Classification of Economic Activities in Estonia (EMTAK)
The Classification of Economic Activities in Estonia (EMTAK) is the basis for defining the field of activity of enterprises and organisations and an important source of information for Statistics Estonia when producing sectoral statistics. Classification by activities also allows for international comparability within a sector.
The classification of activities is hierarchical in structure, divided into five levels. The first four levels correspond to the Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community (NACE) and the fifth level is national, which has been created taking into account the specific features of the Estonian economy and the relevant legislation. EMTAK is maintained by the Centre of Registers and Information Systems (RIK).
On 1 January 2025, an updated version of the classification – EMTAK 2025 – will enter into force, adapted to today's economic environment and activities. Since the entry into force of the previous version of EMTAK (1 January 2008), globalisation and digitisation have changed the way goods and services are provided in many economic activities. New activities have become more prominent, while the importance of others has declined. For example, there have been rapid changes in information technology and specific activities have been created to protect the environment.
Business register for statistical purposes
Business statistics are produced on the basis of the data of economically active entities. However, not all economic entities recorded in the legal registers are necessarily actively operating. In order to produce business statistics, Statistics Estonia keeps a business register for statistical purposes. Its data are obtained from the commercial register, non-profit associations and foundations register, register of taxable persons, and state register of state and local government institutions. In addition to legal registers, other data sources are used, such as the data of the Estonian Tax and Customs Board as well as statistical and financial reports, etc.
In the business register for statistical purposes, statistical units for producing official statistics are specified, economic entities are classified according to international standards, and economically active entities are identified. One of the most important characteristics to be classified is the principal activity of the economic entity.
Principal activity of an economic entity
If an economic entity carries out more than one activity, a distinction is made between principal activity and secondary activities. According to the EU definition, the principal activity of an enterprise is the one that generates the most value added. If no value-added figures are available, other criteria are used to determine the principal activity, such as employment, payroll, and turnover.
The principal activity in the business register for statistical purposes may differ from that in the commercial register because the activity is determined at different times and using different methodologies. In the commercial register, the principal activity is automatically assigned based on the breakdown of sales revenue in the annual report, and a separate announcement of its change cannot be made. Legal and statistical information sources are used to determine the statistical activity. The activity of the enterprise is determined in the autumn during the preparatory phase of the statistical data collection season, confirmed as at 1 November and generally remains unchanged during the year. Changes are only made for entities that are more important from an economic point of view. Information received during the year on changes in activities is taken into account in the preparation of the following year's data collection.
The Classification of Economic Activities in Estonia is used to classify the activities of economic entities.