Statistical presentation

Data description

Fixed capital is compiled according to the guidelines in the European System of Accounts, ESA2010. Fixed capital is compiled gross and net. The difference depends on whether wear and tear, obsolescence and declining remaining service lives are taken into account. The gross capital stock consists of the value of all capital goods valued at replacement cost. When compiling the gross stock, the age dimension is disregarded in the sense that all capital goods, of the same type, but with different remaining service lives are valued alike. The gross stock at constant prices can be regarded as a crude measure of the productive capacity of fixed capital. The net stock represents that part of national wealth, which is placed in fixed assets valued at replacement cost. At constant prices the net stock equals the gross stock less accumulated consumption of fixed capital. It reflects the fact that the market price falls when the remaining service life falls. Consumption of fixed capital in the national accounts expresses the diminishing value of fixed capital as a consequence of wear, tear and obsolescence valued at replacement cost. It is different from the concept depreciation as it is used in company accounts, in which there may also be an element of revaluation as a result of price changes. Consumption of fixed capital in the national accounts is calculated according to the geometric method for all types of assets from 2008 onwards (the geometric method has been incorporated earlier for some types of assets). Prior to 2008 values of consumption of fixed capital are based on the straight-line method. Other volume changes in non-financial assets n.e.c record the effects of unexpected incidents that affect fixed capital, e.g. catastrophic losses. Nominal revaluations tell how much the capital goods change from one period to another due to changes in prices. Real revaluations are corrected from general price changes.

Classification system

The variables are subdivided into the following products:

• Dwellings
• Buildings other than dwellings
• Other structures and land improvements
• Transport equipment
• Computer hardware
• Telecommunication equipment
• Other machinery and equipment and weapon systems
• Cultivated biological resources
• Research and development
• Mineral exploration and evaluation
• Computer software and databases
• Entertainment, literary or artistic originals and other intellectual property products

In addition, there is a breakdown into 69 industries at the most detailed level as well as a breakdown by institutional sectors.

Statistics Denmark's industrial classification DB07, which is a Danish version of the EU NACE, rev. 2. and the UN's ISIC, rev. 4, contains a number of standard classifications: the 127, 36, 19.

Fixed capital most detailed classification level is the standard 69, which can be aggregated to classification 36a2, 19a2 and 10a3. More information

However, comparisons with other statistics at a detailed industry level will often show differences, partly because of differences in definitions of variables, and partly because of the calendar year delimitation of the national accounts and its requirement of total coverage of the economic activity.

Internationally there is a high degree of comparability with the national accounts of other countries because the Danish national accounts are compiled in accordance with the definitions in the European System of National Accounts ESA2010.

Sector coverage

Institutional sectors:

• S.11 Non-financial corporations
• S.12 Financial corporations
• S.13 General government
• S.14 Households
• S.15 Non-profit institutions serving households

Statistical concepts and definitions

Consumption of Fixed Capital: Consumption of fixed capital is the decline, during the course of the accounting period, in the current value of the stock of fixed assets owned and used by a producer as a result of physical deterioration, normal obsolescence or normal accidental damage.

Gross Stock: Gross capital stock is the value of all fixed assets still in use, at the actual or estimated current purchasers’ prices for new assets of the same type, irrespective of the age of the assets

Net Stock: Net capital stock is the sum of the written-down values of all the fixed assets still in use is described as the net capital stock; it can also be described as the difference between gross capital stock and consumption of fixed capital.

Other Volume Changes in Non-financial Assets n.e.c.: Other Volume Changes in Non-financial Assets records abnormal changes to the level of capital stocks. For example unforeseen injury cases are not recorded as consumption of fixed capital but as Other Volume Changes.

Revaluation: The revaluation account records changes in the value of fixed capital due to changes in their prices. The nominal account corresponds to the revaluation of fixed capital stock in a given period due to changes in their prices. The real holding is the difference between general price changes and the fixed capital price change.

Statistical unit

For the compilation of output, intermediate consumption, taxes linked to production and subsidies, wages and salaries, employment, fixed capital formation and depreciation, the statistical unit is the local kind-of-activity unit. For the compilation of distributive and financial transactions, which cannot be divided up unambiguously among the individual kind-of-activity units belonging to a decision making unit (enterprise), the unit is the larger institutional unit, which in most cases will be the same as the legal unit which is the enterprise.

Statistical population

All units generating Danish economic activity

Reference area

Denmark.

Time coverage

• Annual National Accounts, final 1966-2016.
• Annual National Accounts, preliminary 2017-2018.

Base period

Gross stock, net stock, consumption of fixed capital and gross fixed capital formation are compiled as chain volume indices (chained values) with 2010 as base year. This is an attempt to isolate the volume part of the monetary values.

Unit of measure

Mill. DKK

Reference period

Calendar year.

Frequency of dissemination

Annually.

Legal acts and other agreements

REGULATION (EU) No 549/2013 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 21 May 2013 on the European system of national and regional accounts in the European Union (OJ L 174. 26.6.2013, p. 1) (ESA2010).

Cost and burden

There is no direct burden of response since data are collected by other offices in Statistics Denmark.

Comment

A general documentation of the Danish national accounts is available in (Danish) "Nationalregnskab Kilder og metoder. Danmarks Statistik 2002. For a theoretical background and methods for compiling fixed capital: "Measuring Capital". OECD Manual. Measurement of capital stocks, consumption of fixed capital and capital services. OECD 2009.