International Relations

Definition

Exports of goods and services represent the value of all goods and other market services provided to the rest of the world. They include the value of merchandise, freight, insurance, transport, travel, royalties, license fees, and other services, such as communication, construction, financial, information, business, personal, and government services. They exclude compensation of employees and investment income (formerly called factor services) and transfer payments.

Sources

World Bank Development Indicators, from World Bank and OECD

Methodology

Gross domestic product (GDP) from the expenditure side is made up of household final consumption expenditure, general government final consumption expenditure, gross capital formation (private and public investment in fixed assets, changes in inventories, and net acquisitions of valuables), and net exports (exports minus imports) of goods and services. Such expenditures are recorded in purchaser prices and include net taxes on products.

Notes

Data on exports and imports are compiled from customs reports and balance of payments data. Although the data from the payments side provide reasonably reliable records of cross-border transactions, they may not adhere strictly to the appropriate definitions of valuation and timing used in the balance of payments or corresponds to the change-of ownership criterion. This issue has assumed greater significance with the increasing globalization of international business. Neither customs nor balance of payments data usually capture the illegal transactions that occur in many countries. Goods carried by travelers across borders in legal but unreported shuttle trade may further distort trade statistics.

Presence in policy-oriented statistical systems

ENP-South Eurostat Data Browser: Area 'International trade in goods'

Link sources

Definition

Annual growth rate of exports of goods and services based on constant local currency. Aggregates are based on constant 2015 prices, expressed in U.S. dollars. Exports of goods and services represent the value of all goods and other market services provided to the rest of the world. They include the value of merchandise, freight, insurance, transport, travel, royalties, license fees, and other services, such as communication, construction, financial, information, business, personal, and government services. They exclude compensation of employees and investment income (formerly called factor services) and transfer payments.

Sources

World Bank Development Indicators, from World Bank and OECD

Methodology

Gross domestic product (GDP) from the expenditure side is made up of household final consumption expenditure, general government final consumption expenditure, gross capital formation (private and public investment in fixed assets, changes in inventories, and net acquisitions of valuables), and net exports (exports minus imports) of goods and services. Such expenditures are recorded in purchaser prices and include net taxes on products.

Notes

Data on exports and imports are compiled from customs reports and balance of payments data. Although the data from the payments side provide reasonably reliable records of cross-border transactions, they may not adhere strictly to the appropriate definitions of valuation and timing used in the balance of payments or corresponds to the change-of ownership criterion. This issue has assumed greater significance with the increasing globalization of international business. Neither customs nor balance of payments data usually capture the illegal transactions that occur in many countries. Goods carried by travelers across borders in legal but unreported shuttle trade may further distort trade statistics.

Link sources

Definition

Exports of goods and services represent the value of all goods and other market services provided to the rest of the world. They include the value of merchandise, freight, insurance, transport, travel, royalties, license fees, and other services, such as communication, construction, financial, information, business, personal, and government services. They exclude compensation of employees and investment income (formerly called factor services) and transfer payments. Data are in current U.S. dollars.

Sources

World Bank Development Indicators, from World Bank and OECD

Methodology

Gross domestic product (GDP) from the expenditure side is made up of household final consumption expenditure, general government final consumption expenditure, gross capital formation (private and public investment in fixed assets, changes in inventories, and net acquisitions of valuables), and net exports (exports minus imports) of goods and services. Such expenditures are recorded in purchaser prices and include net taxes on products.

Notes

Data on exports and imports are compiled from customs reports and balance of payments data. Although the data from the payments side provide reasonably reliable records of cross-border transactions, they may not adhere strictly to the appropriate definitions of valuation and timing used in the balance of payments or corresponds to the change-of ownership criterion. This issue has assumed greater significance with the increasing globalization of international business. Neither customs nor balance of payments data usually capture the illegal transactions that occur in many countries. Goods carried by travelers across borders in legal but unreported shuttle trade may further distort trade statistics.

Presence in policy-oriented statistical systems

ENP-South Eurostat Data Browser: Area 'International trade in goods'

Link sources

Definition

Fuels comprise the commodities in SITC section 3 (mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials).

Sources

a) UNCTAD; b) World Bank Development Indicators for Spain and Montenegro

Methodology

Merchandise trade statistics consists of data as reported to the UN Comtrade and estimated data for missing reporters. When not reported, statistics on the total merchandise imports and exports of countries (or areas) are mainly derived from the International Financial Statistics (IFS) published monthly by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). They are supplemented with statistics from other sources such as national publications and websites and the United Nations Monthly Bulletin of Statistics Questionnaire.

Notes

Statistics by commodity for missing reporters are estimated either through the extrapolation of the statistics for the two adjacent years, or, if this is not possible, through the use of the statistics reported by the trading partners; i.e., mirror statistics. Mirror statistics are also used in cases in which the reported data must be adjusted due to partner distribution or confidential data. All estimates are reviewed and adjusted where necessary.The classification of commodity groups is based on the Standard International Trade Classification (SITC) revision 3.

Link sources

Definition

Annual growth rate of imports of goods and services based on constant local currency. Aggregates are based on constant 2015 prices, expressed in U.S. dollars.

Sources

World Bank Development Indicators, from World Bank and OECD

Methodology

Gross domestic product (GDP) from the expenditure side is made up of household final consumption expenditure, general government final consumption expenditure, gross capital formation (private and public investment in fixed assets, changes in inventories, and net acquisitions of valuables), and net exports (exports minus imports) of goods and services. Such expenditures are recorded in purchaser prices and include net taxes on products.

Notes

Data on exports and imports are compiled from customs reports and balance of payments data. Although the data from the payments side provide reasonably reliable records of cross-border transactions, they may not adhere strictly to the appropriate definitions of valuation and timing used in the balance of payments or corresponds to the change-of ownership criterion. This issue has assumed greater significance with the increasing globalization of international business. Neither customs nor balance of payments data usually capture the illegal transactions that occur in many countries. Goods carried by travelers across borders in legal but unreported shuttle trade may further distort trade statistics.

Link sources

Definition

Imports of goods and services represent the value of all goods and other market services received from the rest of the world. They include the value of merchandise, freight, insurance, transport, travel, royalties, license fees, and other services, such as communication, construction, financial, information, business, personal, and government services. They exclude compensation of employees and investment income (formerly called factor services) and transfer payments. Data are in current U.S. dollars.

Sources

World Bank Development Indicators, from World Bank and OECD

Methodology

Gross domestic product (GDP) from the expenditure side is made up of household final consumption expenditure, general government final consumption expenditure, gross capital formation (private and public investment in fixed assets, changes in inventories, and net acquisitions of valuables), and net exports (exports minus imports) of goods and services. Such expenditures are recorded in purchaser prices and include net taxes on products.

Notes

Data on exports and imports are compiled from customs reports and balance of payments data. Although the data from the payments side provide reasonably reliable records of cross-border transactions, they may not adhere strictly to the appropriate definitions of valuation and timing used in the balance of payments or corresponds to the change-of ownership criterion. This issue has assumed greater significance with the increasing globalization of international business. Neither customs nor balance of payments data usually capture the illegal transactions that occur in many countries. Goods carried by travelers across borders in legal but unreported shuttle trade may further distort trade statistics.

Link sources

Definition

Fuels comprise the commodities in SITC section 3 (mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials).

Sources

a) UNCTAD; b) World Bank Development Indicators for Spain and Montenegro

Methodology

Merchandise trade statistics consists of data as reported to the UN Comtrade and estimated data for missing reporters. When not reported, statistics on the total merchandise imports and exports of countries (or areas) are mainly derived from the International Financial Statistics (IFS) published monthly by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). They are supplemented with statistics from other sources such as national publications and websites and the United Nations Monthly Bulletin of Statistics Questionnaire.

Notes

Statistics by commodity for missing reporters are estimated either through the extrapolation of the statistics for the two adjacent years, or, if this is not possible, through the use of the statistics reported by the trading partners; i.e., mirror statistics. Mirror statistics are also used in cases in which the reported data must be adjusted due to partner distribution or confidential data. All estimates are reviewed and adjusted where necessary.The classification of commodity groups is based on the Standard International Trade Classification (SITC) revision 3.

Link sources

Definition

Net inflows of investment are new investment inflows less disinvestment in the reporting economy from foreign investors, in order to acquire a lasting management interest (10 percent or more of voting stock) in an enterprise. It is the sum of equity capital, reinvestment of earnings, other long-term capital, and short-term capital as shown in the balance of payments.

Sources

a) International Monetary Fund; b) World Bank Development Indicators for Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, West Bank and Gaza, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria

Methodology

Data on equity flows are based on balance of payments data reported by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Equity flows comprise foreign direct investment (FDI) and portfolio equity. Foreign direct investment (FDI) data are supplemented by the World Bank staff estimates using data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and official national sources.

Notes

The internationally accepted definition of foreign direct investment (from the sixth edition of the IMF's Balance of Payments Manual [2009]), includes the following components: equity investment, including investment associated with equity that gives rise to control or influence; investment in indirectly influenced or controlled enterprises; investment in fellow enterprises; debt (except selected debt); and reverse investment. The Framework for Direct Investment Relationships provides criteria for determining whether cross-border ownership results in a direct investment relationship, based on control and influence. Distinguished from other kinds of international investment, FDI is made to establish a lasting interest in or effective management control over an enterprise in another country. A lasting interest in an investment enterprise typically involves establishing warehouses, manufacturing facilities, and other permanent or long-term organizations abroad. Direct investments may take the form of greenfield investment, where the investor starts a new venture in a foreign country by constructing new operational facilities; joint venture, where the investor enters into a partnership agreement with a company abroad to establish a new enterprise; or merger and acquisition, where the investor acquires an existing enterprise abroad. The IMF suggests that investments should account for at least 10 percent of voting stock to be counted as FDI. In practice many countries set a higher threshold. Many countries fail to report reinvested earnings, and the definition of long-term loans differs among countries. FDI data do not give a complete picture of international investment in an economy. Balance of payments data on FDI do not include capital raised locally, an important source of investment financing in some developing countries. In addition, FDI data omit nonequity cross-border transactions such as intra-unit flows of goods and services. The volume of global private financial flows reported by the World Bank generally differs from that reported by other sources because of differences in sources, classification of economies, and method used to adjust and disaggregate reported information. In addition, particularly for debt financing, differences may also reflect how some installments of the transactions and certain offshore issuances are treated. Data starting from 2005 are based on the sixth edition of the IMF's Balance of Payments Manual (BPM6).

Presence in policy-oriented statistical systems

ENP-South Eurostat Data Browser: Area 'Tourism'

Link sources

Definition

Net outflows of investment are new investment outflows less disinvestment from the reporting economy to the rest of the world, in order to acquire a lasting management interest (10 percent or more of voting stock) in an enterprise. It is the sum of equity capital, reinvestment of earnings, other long-term capital, and short-term capital as shown in the balance of payments.

Sources

a) International Monetary Fund; b) World Bank Development Indicators for Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Lebanon, Jordan, West Bank and Gaza, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria

Methodology

Data on equity flows are based on balance of payments data reported by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Equity flows comprise foreign direct investment (FDI) and portfolio equity. Foreign direct investment (FDI) data are supplemented by the World Bank staff estimates using data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and official national sources.

Notes

The internationally accepted definition of foreign direct investment (from the sixth edition of the IMF's Balance of Payments Manual [2009]), includes the following components: equity investment, including investment associated with equity that gives rise to control or influence; investment in indirectly influenced or controlled enterprises; investment in fellow enterprises; debt (except selected debt); and reverse investment. The Framework for Direct Investment Relationships provides criteria for determining whether cross-border ownership results in a direct investment relationship, based on control and influence. Distinguished from other kinds of international investment, FDI is made to establish a lasting interest in or effective management control over an enterprise in another country. A lasting interest in an investment enterprise typically involves establishing warehouses, manufacturing facilities, and other permanent or long-term organizations abroad. Direct investments may take the form of greenfield investment, where the investor starts a new venture in a foreign country by constructing new operational facilities; joint venture, where the investor enters into a partnership agreement with a company abroad to establish a new enterprise; or merger and acquisition, where the investor acquires an existing enterprise abroad. The IMF suggests that investments should account for at least 10 percent of voting stock to be counted as FDI. In practice many countries set a higher threshold. Many countries fail to report reinvested earnings, and the definition of long-term loans differs among countries. FDI data do not give a complete picture of international investment in an economy. Balance of payments data on FDI do not include capital raised locally, an important source of investment financing in some developing countries. In addition, FDI data omit nonequity cross-border transactions such as intra-unit flows of goods and services. The volume of global private financial flows reported by the World Bank generally differs from that reported by other sources because of differences in sources, classification of economies, and method used to adjust and disaggregate reported information. In addition, particularly for debt financing, differences may also reflect how some installments of the transactions and certain offshore issuances are treated. Data starting from 2005 are based on the sixth edition of the IMF's Balance of Payments Manual (BPM6).

Presence in policy-oriented statistical systems

ENP-South Eurostat Data Browser: Area ' Economy and Finance'

Link sources