This set of statistics has been discontinued.

Statistical data on this topic are published in connection with another set of statistics.

Data published after 5 April 2022 can be found on the renewed website.

This page is archived.

Country and service classification

Country classification

EU15-countries     Country code     Other countries     Country code    
Austria AT Canada CA
Belgium BE China CN
Denmark DK Estonia EE
France FR India IN
Germany DE Japan JP
Great Britain GB Norway NO
Greece GR Russia RU
Ireland IE Switzerland CH
Italy IT United States US
Luxembourg LU Rest of the world 99
Netherlands NL    
Portugal PT    
Spain SP    
Sweden SE    

Service classification

223 Transport services freight charges

This item contains all compensations for transport services paid by Finnish enterprises to foreign en-terprises if the transport has taken place as road haulage. The usage of transport services applies to both export and import of services and also to cabotage and transit trade. Freight insurance and expenditure from repair of haulage equipment are not included in this item.

246 Postal and courier services

Postal and courier services covers the despatch, delivery and collection of letters, parcels, periodi-cals, etc., as well as poste restante services, sales of stamps and administration of money orders.

247 Telecommunications services

Telecommunication services comprises telephone, telex, telegram, cable, satellite, electronic mail and teleconferencing services, including business network services, and "backbone" and "on-line access" services on the Internet.

Return to the classification

250 Construction abroad

From the point of international trade in services, construction abroad refers to short-term (recommendation under 12 months) construction or installation projects performed by enterprises resident in the compiling economy for non-resident economic units. Such projects may involve building, renovation, installation or demolition. Construction services covers all services that form an integral part of construction contracts, including site preparation work, building construction, civil engineering, installation and assembly of machinery, finishing of building exteriors and surroundings, and other construction services such as renting services of construction or demolition equipment with operator.

Machinery rentals without personnel are not included in construction services, but come under operational leasing instead (Direct leasing, title 272). Installation equipment used in installations is included in construction services. Construction abroad does not include work that is related to the preparation of a mine, oil or gas field, or decontamination of soil, which come under title 281.

The residency of an economic unit is not determined by its ownership but by the location of its centre of economic interest, i.e. the country where it operates permanently. For instance, if the centre of economic interest of a foreign enterprise's subsidiary or affiliate operating in Finland is located in Finland, from the point of balance of payments such an enterprise is a domestic economic unit. Likewise, a Finnish enterprise's subsidiary or affiliate operating permanently abroad is a foreign economic unit.

Construction abroad requires two entries, i.e. income and expenditure. Gross income from the above defined construction projects abroad is entered as income. Costs from construction projects abroad are entered as expenditure. These costs are:

1) Value of the construction project materials that come from Finland

2) Value of the goods and services that are bought from the compiling country for construction projects

3) Value of the goods and services that are brought from third countries for construction projects

4) Wages and other employee benefits that are paid to the compiling country for work on construction projects.

Return to the classification

250 Construction in Finland

From the point of international trade in services, construction in Finland comprises brief (recommendation less than 12 months) construction and installation services provided to residents of the compiling economy by non-resident construction enterprises. Construction in Finland is conceptually identical to construction abroad.

Construction in Finland requires one entry, which is the expense entry. Fees paid to foreign enter-prises on construction services in Finland are entered as expenditure.

260 Financial intermediation services

Financial intermediation services covers financial intermediation and auxiliary services (except those of life insurance enterprises and pension funds, which are included in insurance services). Included are services provided in connection with transactions in financial instruments, as well as other services related to financial activity, such as advisory, custody and asset management services. Sales of financial intermediation services are entered under export of services and purchases of financial intermediation are entered under import of services.

Included in financial intermediation services are

  • commissions and fees (explicit and implicit), associated with financial transactions (such as loans and deposits, lines of credit, financial leasing, factoring, financial derivatives, placement of issues and clearing of payments)
  • advisory services
  • custody services
  • financial asset management services
  • corporate finance and venture capital services
  • credit card and other credit granting services
  • fees that are charged for the conversion of foreign exchange (explicit and implicit, or the spread between the mid-point rate and the buying or selling rate)
  • credit rating

Excluded from financial intermediation services are

  • interest earned on deposits, loans, financial leases and debt securities
  • dividends
  • life insurance and other insurance services
  • non-financial advisory services provided by banks
  • gains and losses made on purchase and sales of securities

Return to the classification

263 Computer services

Computer services consists of development, designing and management of information systems and customised software. Included are development and production of applications, and their maintenance and installation services, maintenance and repair of computers and peripheral equipment, hardware consulting, consulting and training services relating to information technology, and other data processing services, such as data entry, tabulation and sales of server space for customer's web pages: web page hosting services.

Royalties and licence fees relating to software and other user rights are entered under the title '266' Royalties and licence fees. Purchases and sales of mass production programs are not included in computer services, because data on them are compiled in foreign trade statistics as part of barter trade.

264 Information services

Information services covers news agency services and database services. News agency services include the provision of news, photographs and feature articles to the media. Database services include database searches and computerised search services, data storage and dissemination and database conception. Fees from database services that cannot be separated from related telecommunications services are entered here if the fees from telecommunications services are smaller than the fees from database services.

Return to the classification

266 Royalty and licence fees

Income and expenditure from royalties and licence fees and payments originate from:

1) Authorised use of an intangible asset such as a trademark, copyright, patent, industrial process or technology, design, model, production right, franchise or computer software, or

2) Use of a produced original or prototype such as a manuscript, cinematographic work or the like to which a licence agreement or copyright has been bought.

The income from royalties an enterprise receives from abroad is entered under export of services and the expenses paid by an enterprise to abroad for royalties are entered under import of services. Excluded from royalties and licence fees are the expenses or income that relate to the selling or buying of a trademark, copyright or similar.

269 Merchanting services and other trade-related services

Imports of merchanting services and other trade-related services are normally conducted by enterprises that import goods and receive fees from foreign enterprises for the importing of the goods to Finland. Imports of merchanting services and other trade-related services take place when a Finnish enterprise pays to a foreign enterprise compensation for marketing and distributing the Finnish company's products abroad.

Other trade-related services covers commissions on goods and service transactions between resident merchants, commodity brokers, dealers, and commission agents and non-residents. This item also includes transactions in ships, aircraft, and sale of goods by auction. The income received from the service is entered under export of services and the compensation paid for the service is entered under import of services irrespective of the direction of the stream of goods.

Merchanting can also cover the purchase of goods by a resident of the compiling economy from a non-resident, and subsequent resale of the goods to another non-resident. During the process, the goods do not enter or leave the compiling economy or move from the compiling country to abroad. The value of the merchanting services is the difference between the value of goods when aquired and the value of goods when resold. If the goods are resold for less than the original cost of purchase, then a negative export of merchanting services would be recorded.

Return to the classification

272 Operational leasing

Operational leasing services covers leasing (rental) and charter of ships, aircraft, and transport equipment such as cars, containers, railway carriages, and so on without crew. The rental to a foreign enterprise or person is entered under export of services. Excluded are financial leasing (services associated with it are entered under financial intermediation services), or leasing of telecommunication lines (comes under telecommunication services) or rental of real estate facilities or property (comes under Services between related enterprises not included elsewhere), or rental of vehicles to tourists (comes under tourism services which are not covered by this inquiry)

274 Legal services, accounting, auditing, bookkeeping, business and management consultancy and public relations services

Legal services covers all legal advisory and representation services in any legal, judicial and statutory procedures and drafting services of legal documents and instruments. It also covers certification consultancy, auditing and bookkeeping services, tax consulting services and preparation of tax documents, analysing services of financial statements, management consultancy and management auditing services. Also included are services related to improvement of public image and other PR activity.

Return to the classification

278 Advertising, market research and public opinion polling

Advertising, market research and public opinion polling covers the design, creation and marketing of advertisements by advertising agencies. It also covers media placement, including the purchase and sale of advertising space, exhibition services provided by trade fairs, promotion of products abroad, market research, telemarketing, and public opinion polling on various issues.

279 Research and development services (R&D)

Research and development services covers payments that relate to basic research, applied research and experimental development of new products and processes. Research and development also covers research in social sciences and humanities. It does not include marketing research, which comes under title '278' Advertising, market research and public opinion polling, or technical studies, which are covered by '280' Architectural, engineering and other technical services.

280 Architectural, engineering and other technical services

Architectural, engineering and other technical services covers consulting and planning services, project monitoring services, architectural services relating to urban planning and landscaping, cartography, product testing and certification, technical inspection services, export (sales) and import (purchases) of services related to project management which take place after project completions. The item further covers architectural planning and project planning of urban and other development projects on the turnkey principle (e.g. dams, bridges, airports).

Return to the classification

281 Agricultural services, mining services and on-site processing services

This item covers the provision of agricultural machinery with crew, harvesting, treatment of crops, pest control, and services relating to forestry, hunting and fishing purchased from or sold to a foreign enterprise. The item also includes technical services provided at oil and gas fields, such as drilling, building, repair and dismantling services of derricks, and mineral prospecting and exploration, as well as mine maintenance, drilling, inspection and repair services.

The item also includes treatment, storage and disposal of waste, pollution prevention and decontami-nation, and environmental consulting and auditing.

284 Other business services

Other business services covers recruitment of personnel, security and investigative services, transla-tion and interpretation services, photographic services and building cleaning services.

285 Services between related enterprises not included elsewhere

Services between related enterprises not included elsewhere covers payments between foreign subsidiary and domestic parent enterprises or domestic subsidiary and foreign parent enterprises for shared administrative costs (management fees). Payments received are entered under export of services and payments disbursed under import of services.

Also included are transfers of funds from parent enterprises to their subsidiaries to cover overhead expenses, such as rents and maintenance of activity excluding investments. The item also covers all services between a parent and subsidiary enterprise that cannot be classified elsewhere.

Return to the classification

288 Audiovisual and related services

Audiovisual and related services comprises services and associated fees related to the production of motion pictures on film or video, production of radio and television programmes and musical recordings, fees received by producers, directors and actors, and fees paid on sales of distribution rights.

The item also includes fees paid to non-resident actors, directors for theatrical and musical productions, sporting events, circuses and other similar events.

Excluded are purchases and sales of films, television and radio programmes, recorded music, musical compositions and manuscripts.

289 Other personal, cultural and recreational services

Other personal, cultural and recreational services includes training of employees and related payments, diverse cultural and recreational services, such as library, museum, archiving and other cultural and sports services. The item also includes health services provided on-site.

982 Other unspecified services

All services that cannot be classified by the provided service types belong to this group. We would ask you to specify the services you have placed under this title in the Comments section of this ques-tionnaire.

Return to beginning


Last updated 20.4.2006

Referencing instructions:

Statistics: International trade in services [e-publication].
ISSN=1798-3525. 2003, Country and service classification . Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 28.3.2024].
Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/pul/2003/pul_2003_2006-04-20_luo_001_en.html