System of National Accounts
The System of National Accounts or SNA is an international standard system of concepts and methods for compiling national accounts. The system is nowadays used by almost all countries in the world. SNA-type national accounts are among the world's most important sources of macroeconomic statistics. They provide essential data for empirical macroeconomic models and economic forecasting.
When governments use SNA standards to guide the construction of their country's national accounts, it results in much better data quality and data comparability. In turn, that helps to form more accurate judgements about economic situations, and to put economic issues in correct proportion — nationally and internationally.
The first international standard was published by the United Nations in 1953. Additions and revisions were published in 1960, 1964, 1968, 1993 and 2008. After five years of work, including global consultation with a thousand experts, the pre-edit version for the SNA 2025 revision was adopted by the United Nations Statistical Commission at its 56th Session in March 2025, together with the new Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual. The finalized version of SNA 2025 will be published in 2026, and will be made available in all six official UN languages. Behind the accounts system, there is also a system of people: the people who are cooperating around the world to produce the statistics, for use by government and international agencies, businesspeople, media, academics, political parties and interest groups from all nations.
SNA guidelines have now been adopted in more than 200 separate countries, territories and areas, although in many cases with some adaptations for local circumstances. Whenever people in the world are using macroeconomic data, they are most often using information sourced from SNA-type accounts or from economic data sets "strongly influenced" by SNA concepts, designs, data and classifications. Economists and officials across the world depend on timely SNA data, to monitor economic activity, evaluate policy options, and make strategic decisions.
Organizational approach
The United Nations and its partner organizations have always encouraged national statistics offices to apply SNA standards. However, using SNA guidelines to compile national accounts is voluntary and not mandatory. What countries are able to do, will depend on available capacity, local priorities, and the existing state of statistical development. Government agencies usually determine their own policies for economic statistics, within the framework of local laws. However, cooperation with SNA has many advantages in terms of data comparability and data quality, gaining access to data, exchange of data, data dissemination, cost-saving, technical support, and scientific advice for data production. Most countries see the advantages, and are willing to participate. Moreover, if reliable and up-to-date SNA macroeconomic data is not available, this could hinder the financial strategies of governments.The SNA-based European System of Accounts is an exceptional case, because using ESA standards is compulsory for all member states of the European Union. This legal requirement for uniform accounting standards exists primarily because of mutual financial claims and obligations by member governments and central EU organizations. Another exception is North Korea. North Korea is a member of the United Nations since 1991, but does not use SNA as a framework for its economic data production. Although North Korea's Central Bureau of Statistics does traditionally produce economic statistics, using a modified version of the Material Product System, its macroeconomic data area are nowadays not published for general release. UNDP and the Bank of Korea produce a few estimates; the validity of the Bank of Korea estimates has been disputed.
The global grid of the SNA social accounting system continues to develop and expand, and is coordinated by five international organizations: United Nations Statistics Division, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and Eurostat. The European Commission is also involved, via membership of the set up by the United Nations Statistical Commission to promote cooperation between statistical agencies worldwide. The ISWGNA is assisted by the . Revisions of the SNA national accounts system are centrally coordinated by the ISWGNA which has its own website, hosted by the United Nations Statistics Division.
There are also other UN organizations which contribute to SNA development, in specific areas. For example, UN regional commissions can assist with SNA capacity building, technical/scientific advice and accounts design. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime created a conceptual framework for measuring illicit financial flows which is consistent with SNA concepts. The UNECE Statistical Division is pioneering the use of artificial intelligence in UN statistical operations. The United Nations inter-agency forum called Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities brings together international and supranational organisations whose mandate includes the provision of statistics. The CCSA promotes inter-agency coordination and cooperation on statistical programmes, and consistency in statistical practices and development across the world.
All these organizations have a vital interest in internationally comparable economic statistics, based on data sets supplied regularly by NSO's. For this reason, they promote the international standardization of classifications, and increasing the compatibility of different statistical systems. They play an active role in the publication of international statistics for data users worldwide. The SNA accounts are "building blocks" for many more macroeconomic data sets which combine SNA data with data from other sources.
History and actuality
The historical origins of accounting practice are debated by scholars. It all began with the invention of counting systems. Accounting already occurred millenia ago in the ancient Near East. In Europe, double-entry business accounting was practiced in Northern Italy circa 1300 AD. Similar sorts of accounting techniques were also developed independently in China, India, Iran and Arab countries. At the dawn of the modern era in Europe, accounting referred to 'reckoning for money paid, received or held in trust and presenting a formal account of it'. The English category of an “accounting officer” in the sense of a "professional maker of accounts" emerged in the 1530s. When government administration systems became more sophisticated, when currency was more widely used, and population census data began to be collected, the idea arose of applying accounting techniques to the national economy.The first national accounts
The first attempts at national accounting by individual researchers in Europe, from the 17th century through the 19th century, aimed mainly to estimate national income and national wealth. The first known attempt in England was by William Petty, in 1665. Petty tried to work out how best to spread the tax burden caused by government spending on the second Anglo-Dutch War. For this purpose, he estimated the income and capital of England. The new science was often called “political arithmetick” – it aimed to calculate what the best policies would be for the state and the country, with recognition of different economic, social and political interests at stake. The first known estimate of “value-added” in England was created by Arthur Young around 1770, in a production account for agriculture. Young also created a national income estimate for England.International associations
At first individual researchers in different countries followed their own approach, sometimes borrowing ideas from each other. In the 1830s–1850s, "statistical offices" and national "statistical societies" were founded in Europe and America. In the mid-19th century, the idea arose of "organized contacts between the statisticians of different countries, although informal contacts occurred earlier". In those days, the name "statistics" referred mainly to "matters of state", and British statisticians were often called "statists".Adolphe Quetelet was the driving force behind the First International Statistical Congress held at Brussels in September 1853, and more congresses followed. An International Statistical Institute was founded in 1885. Subsequently interventionist governments began to organize much more statistical research, and used national income & wealth estimates to inform their fiscal, social and economic policies.
The production of “official statistics” was often delegated as a specialized service to separate statistical authorities, bureaus or institutes which had considerable scientific autonomy, partly to safeguard the objectivity and scientific integrity of data reports. In some countries, the production of national accounts is highly centralized in one office or organization, while in other countries the process is decentralized and different government organizations contribute different parts of the accounts. The organizational approach taken in different countries is usually influenced by the prevailing legal frameworks for government activities, the existing structure of government institutions, and the size of the country.