Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services

Table A.III.2.   GNS/W/120 - CPC, Version 1.0 - EBOPS correspondence 
GNS/W/120  
 
 
CPC, Version 1.0 
EBOPS 
 
 
149
 
 
 
  99000  
Services provided by extraterritorial 
organizations and bodies 
  292 
Embassies and consulates 
 
 
 
   
 
  293 
Military units and agencies 
 

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Annex IV. 
ICFA-EBOPS Correspondence Tables 
Correspondence between ISIC Categories for Foreign Affiliates (ICFA) and Extended 
Balance of Payments Services Classification (EBOPS) 
 
1.  Correspondences between classifications of industry 
and classifications of products are by their nature 
approximate.  This is because each product (whether a 
good or a service) is not necessarily produced by only 
one industry. As noted in the System of National 
Accounts 1993, paragraph 5.4, “The same goods or 
services may be produced using different methods of 
production so that there can be no one-to-one 
correspondence between activities and the goods or 
services they produce.  Certain types of goods may be 
produced from quite different industries; for example, 
sugar may be produced from sugar cane or from sugar 
beet, or electricity from coal, oil or nuclear power 
stations or from hydroelectric plants.  Many production 
processes also produce joint products, such as meat and 
hides, whose uses are quite different”. 
2.  In tables A.IV.1 and A.IV.2 below, aggregated 
categories of ISIC, Rev.3 (ICFA) are aligned with 
EBOPS categories.  There is no intention of establishing 
a one-to-one correspondence between ISIC and EBOPS. 
This is considered neither practical nor desirable since it 
might lead to an inadequate description of EBOPS 
categories, especially at the higher levels, because such a 
one-to-one correspondence might overlook important 
areas of secondary production by industries.  The extent 
to which data on resident/non-resident trade classified 
according to EBOPS can be corresponded with data on 
FATS variables, classified according to aggregated 
categories of ISIC, Rev.3, is inherently limited. 
 
Nonetheless, a correspondence between the two bases of 
classification may be useful for some purposes, mainly 
involving activities that tend to be carried out only by 
firms that are specialized in the activity and tend not to 
have significant secondary activities. 
3.  It should be noted that except for specific activity 
and product breakdowns suggested in the text of chapter 
IV of the Manual, most of the recommendations in the 
Manual are as applicable to goods as to services, and 
might be considered in developing a generalized 
framework for statistics on affiliate operations.  Since 
foreign affiliates of trade in services may produce both 
goods and services and in order to maintain 
harmonization with other international frameworks, such 
as the 1993 SNA and BPM5, agreement has been 
maintained in the correspondences of tables A.IV.1 and 
A.IV.2 (ICFA and EBOPS) with the published 
correspondences between ISIC, Rev.3 (activities) and 
CPC, Version 1.0 (goods and services). 
4. Table A.IV.1 presents the correspondence 
ICFA/EBOPS and Table A.IV.2 presents the 
correspondence EBOPS/ICFA, which shows 
approximate links between some EBOPS components 
and economic activities and will allow comparisons 
between EBOPS and FATS statistics. 
5.  Analysts are advised to use these correspondences 
and any resulting comparisons with appropriate caution. 

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