The major indicators of the System of National Accounts of Russia for 1995 - 2008 are published in this section.

The System of National Accounts (SNA) is a system of interrelated indicators applied for description and analysis of macro-economic processes in more than 150 countries of the world with market economy.

A key indicator of the system is Gross Domestic Product (GDP) characterizing the value of goods and services produced in all sectors of the economy in a country and intended for final consumption, capital formation and exports (excluding imports).

GDP may be estimated using three methods: production, use of incomes and GDP formation by income sources.

While estimating GDP by production method, GDP is defined as a difference between total output of goods and services for the entire economy, on the one hand, and intermediate consumption, on the other, or otherwise as a sum of value added in the sectors of the economy. Volumes of value added for the sectors are measured at basic prices, that is, excluding taxes on products, but including subsidies for products. For measuring GDP at market prices, it is necessary to add net (excluding subsidies) taxes on products.

Gross Domestic Product, measured by the method of use of incomes, represents a sum of expenditure of all the institutional units - residents of a country for final consumption, gross capital formation and net exports.

Gross Domestic Product calculated on the basis of income sources reflects primary incomes accumulated in the process of production by all institutional units grouped by sectors of the economy. In this calculation the gross operating surplus (gross mixed income) is a balancing item and is measured as a difference between GDP calculated by the production method at market prices, compensation of employees and net taxes on production and imports.

This method is used by Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) only for the analysis of value structure of GDP, and not for measuring its nominal volume or its changes.

In production framework of SNA hidden production (economic activities which are allowed by the legislation but which is hid or decreased with the aim to avoid taxes, etc.) is included as well as informal production - production activities of non-corporate enterprises of households which are not covered by direct statistical observation. In the present time non-corporate enterprises market production and production for own use are included in the composition of informal production.

Production in the SNA is characterized by indicators of output, intermediate consumption and Gross Domestic Product.

Output is a summary value of goods and services that are results of the production activity of resident-units in the economy for the reference period.

Intermediate consumption consists of value of goods and services that are transformed or completely consumed in the production process in the reference period.

Gross value added is measured at the level of sectors (branches) of the economy and is treated as a difference between the output of goods and services and intermediate consumption. The notion "gross" means that this indicator includes the value of consumed fixed capital (i.e. before its deduction).

Net taxes on production and imports include taxes on products and imports, as well as other taxes on production. The notion "net" in this case indicates that taxes are shown excluding related subsidies. Subsidies are treated as non-compensated payments from the state budget to enterprises provided those enterprises are really producing particular goods or services.

Taxes on products include taxes with the size directly depending on the value of products produced or services rendered. Taxes on products comprise: value added tax (VAT), excise duties, taxes on import goods and services and some others.

Other taxes on production - these are taxes related to the use of production factors (labour, land, capital), as well as payments for licenses and permission to be engaged in some kind of activity, or other obligatory payments which are necessary for the activity of a producing unit - a resident. They do not include any taxes on the profit or other incomes received by the enterprise. Among these are: the tax on property of enterprises, tax on land, tax on transport means owners (legal entities and individual entrepreneurs), license duties and some others.

Gross Domestic Product at the production stage is calculated by summing up gross value added by branches at basic prices plus net taxes on products.

Compensation of employees is defined as a sum of all remunerations in money or in kind paid by employer and received by employees in exchange for the work performed in the reference period.

Compensation of employees is recorded on the basis of accrued sums and includes taxes on incomes and other payments which must be paid by employees even if they are actually charged by employers for administrative purposes or for other reasons and are paid directly to social insurance and tax bodies on behalf of the employees.

Remunerations of employees include wages and payment of employers to social insurance funds.

In the SNA compensations of employees include hidden compensations.

Gross (net) operating surplus and gross (net) mixed incomes are a part of a value added component which remains with producers after deducting expenditures related to the compensation of employees and net taxes on production and imports. This category measures operating surplus (or losses) from the production prior to recording property income. In contrast to the indicator of profit received from realization (sale) reflected in the accounting records, the gross operating surplus in the SNA does not contain elements of labour remuneration: over-normative payments on subsistence allowance, representative (hospitality) and other allowances, profit formed with asset owners as a result of prices growth, and includes consumption of fixed capital equal to the cost estimate of its annual depreciation, natural aging or accidental damage.

The net operating surplus is equal to the gross operating surplus less fixed capital consumption.

Referring to non-corporate enterprises owned by households, this category includes some remuneration for the work performed that cannot be separated from the owner's or entrepreneur income. In this case it is called mixed income.

Final consumption comprises final consumption expenditures of households, final consumption expenditures of government institutions on individual goods and services and collective services, final consumption expenditures of non-profit institutions serving households.

Final consumption expenditures of households include expenditures on purchasing consumer goods and services from all the trade enterprises, in markets and through non-organized trade, from organisations rendering everyday services to households, from public passenger transport, communication, services rendered by the hotels, market institutions of culture, public health, education and others and also values of goods and services consumed in kind, produced for own use and received as a type of remuneration or humanitarian help.

Expenditures of public administration on individual goods and service comprise the expenditures of public administration sector on the purchase of consumer goods and services designed for individual consumption. Such expenditures are financed from the state budget and from extra-budget funds from sources generated through tax revenues and other revenues of the state. These expenditures comprise the expenditures of enterprises and organisations rendering free of charge services (to population) in the field of education, public health and culture.

Expenditures of public administration on collective service. This indicator is different from the previous one since it includes services rendered by enterprises and organisations which are compensated from the state budget and their services meet the needs of the community as a whole and not the private households. This indicator includes expenditures on defense, general government, as well as expenditures on non-market science, services of organisations serving agriculture and other.

Final consumption expenditures of non-profit organisations, serving households are expenditures of non-government organisations (political parties, religious institutions, trade unions, associations), which are conditionally considered to provide individual goods and services. Included are also the value of non-market services (social) rendered by social and cultural division of corporations and quasi-corporations to their employees.

Gross capital formation in the economy as a whole indicates net acquisition by resident units of goods and services produced in the current period or imported, but not consumed in that period. Gross capital formation includes gross fixed capital formation, changes in inventories, as well as net acquisition of valuables.

Net exports of goods and services are calculated as a difference between exports and imports and include trade turnover of Russia with far abroad countries and the CIS countries.

Statistical discrepancy between the produced and used Gross Domestic Product shows the discrepancy between the values of GDP calculated by different methods: as a sum of gross value added and a sum of final consumption, capital formation and net exports.