Quarterly Economic Statistics is a survey that is carried out every quarter and consists of three parts:

1. Income Statement
2. Business Inventories
3. Investments

Statistics Sweden has been given task by the Swedish government to describe the economy. The result from this survey is a part in that description.

The survey covers the whole economy. Only as many companies that are needed to achieve a sufficient level of quality are selected in the sample.

To be able to produce reliable statistics, it is very important that Statistics Sweden receives the answers from all companies in time. A company in the survey can not be replaced by another.

The statistics are an important part of the national accounts and are used in the compilation of quarterly Gross Domestic Product, GDP. The information also contributes to the illustration of the business cycle. Users of these statistics are among others, The National Institute of Economic Research (NIER), the Swedish Ministry of Finance, Sveriges Riksbank and trade associations.

After the end of each quarter, Statistics Sweden sends a letter with login details for the relevant form. The last response date is indicated in the letter with login details, in the online form and under the heading Schedule.

The survey consists of three parts. This means that you may be eligible for one, two or three of the constituent parts. You only need to take part of the information relating to the parts of the survey that you are answering.

Income statement

You provide information on income statement items either classified by nature of expense or classified by function.

Income statement classified by nature of expense is the preselected choice. Please contact us if you would like provide information classified by function.

For an example form, see:

Income Statement Classified by Nature of Expense (PDF)

Income Statement Classified by Function (PDF)

Business inventories

You submit information on the inventories that you own. This also applies to inventories that you own and stores outside Sweden’s borders, in central warehouses or with another business/retailer. The information is collected by type of inventory, according to the base account plan BAS 2024:

A more detailed description of requested information (PDF)

(Also available in the web form)

Investments

You provide information on investments made during the quarter.

Instructions for investments (PDF)

Quarter 1

Mail-out: 27 March 2024
Last date for submitting the form: 22 April 2024.

Quarter 2

Mail-out: 27 June 2024.
Last date for submitting the form: 22 July 2024.

Quarter 3

Mail-out: 27 September 2024.
Last date for submitting the form: 21 October 2024.

Who is included in the survey?

The survey applies to activities in the manufacturing industry, construction and trade in goods and services. The sample in the survey includes only as many units as are needed to produce good quality statistics. The sample for the survey is selected randomly and parts of the sample are renewed every year. A company usually takes part in the survey for several years. How long a company will take part mainly depends on the industry and size of the company. The largest companies in an industry are always included.

To be able to produce reliable statistics, it is very important that Statistics Sweden receive details in time from all the selected units. A unit that is included in the survey cannot be replaced by another unit.

Is the survey mandatory?

Yes, this survey forms parts of Official Statistics of Sweden, which means that it is mandatory to provide information pursuant to the Official Statistics Act (2001:99) and Statistics Sweden’s regulations (SCB-FS 2022:08).

Can we get an extension of time to submit the information?

In some cases, Statistics Sweden can give a limited time extension. Please contact us if you are not able to submit information on time.

I don’t have my login details – what should I do?

E-mail or call us and specify which survey it concerns; don’t forget to state either the V-number or the corporate ID number.

The wrong contact person is listed in the letter – how do I change this?

When you log in to submit your information, you must first confirm that the contact details are correct. Please correct any inaccurate contact details.

What should I do if the company’s operations have changed?

Notify us of any changes in the company’s operations, such as a transfer of operations, whether workplaces have been sold or taken over, bankruptcies or changes in industry affiliation. Notify us of this directly in the web form, by e-mail or by telephone.

Our business has gone bankrupt or merged with another company – what should I do?

Submit data for the quarters in which the company was still active and enter 0 (zero) for the remaining quarters if the company has gone bankrupt. Include a comment about this at the end before submitting the data.

The same applies for a merger – submit data for the quarters before the merger and enter 0 for the remainder of the year. If you have information about the new business, please include this at the end before submitting the data.

For which parts of the company should I submit information?

The form explains for which parts of the company information is to be submitted. Often, information is requested for the entire legal unit, but legal units with activities in different industries have been broken down into several activity units, and the form then refers to one activity unit. This is to ensure that the statistical reporting at the industry level will be reliable where the classification of industries is based on the Swedish Industrial Classification SNI 2007 (corresponding to NACE 2007). You can always find information in the form about which activity area of the legal unit the information refers to.

Which reporting period should we use?

The reporting period refers to the calendar quarter for income statement and investments. In the case of inventories, it should refer to the value of the inventories in the business on the last day of the quarter. You may also submit information for an earlier quarter or change previously submitted information.

How should I report my values?

State the values in SEK thousands. SEK 100 000 shall be stated as 100. Do not use minus signs or commas when entering the amounts.

Is it acceptable to estimate the values?

The value of inventory may be estimated if the inventory is not inventoried on a quarterly basis or if the requested information is not available in the company’s accounting system and cannot be calculated relatively easily.

Feel free to use standardised values for sales values that have not yet been determined.

The value of investments and income statement may be estimated if the actual information is not yet available. Please change estimated values to actual values when they are available.

How do I amend/change already submitted information?

Web forms for the current year always remain open for adjustment so you can log in at any time, make corrections and submit the new information.

Can I be reimbursed for submitting information about my business?

No. Submitting information is a legal obligation for businesses and organisations, which is why there is no remuneration. Neither Statistics Sweden nor any other government agency has been granted funds for remuneration to businesses for submitting  

The results will be published on Statistics Sweden’s web page under the subject area Business activities after each survey round.

The results of Quarterly economic statistics are published regularly about 55 days after the end of the quarter. See the links for information on the next publishing date.

To the results of Quarterly economic statistics

This survey is subject to a duty to provide information in accordance with the Official Statistics Act (2001:99). The statistics are also regulated by the Official Statistics Ordinance (2001:100) and Statistics Sweden’s regulations (SCB-FS 2022:08). This means that companies who do not provide information run the risk of an order of penalty payment. Consultation has taken place with the Board of Swedish Industry and Commerce for Better Regulation (NNR) and the Swedish Better Regulation Council.

Information submitted to Statistics Sweden is protected by confidentiality pursuant to Chapter 24, Section 8 of the Public Access to Information and Secrecy Act (2009:400). The survey results are reported by industry, so it will not be possible to identify information specific to your company.