Statistical Yearbook of the Czech Republic

 

International comparisons - methodology

 Contents
Since 2004, in this chapter, the CZSO has been providing its users with indicators governed by the same methodology for international comparison compilations. Included among them are also structural indicators compiled by Eurostat from data regularly transmitted there by national statistical offices; some data are also supplied by international organizations (e.g. OECD and the European Central Bank).

With the help of these structural indicators, meeting the objectives laid down in the Lisbon Strategy approved by the Council of the European Union in March 2000 is monitored and evaluated.

The structural indicators include a total of 42 key indicators from six areas. Their selection for the Yearbook is based on the short list of structural indicators which comprises 14 most important structural indicators and which is stable for the three years to come. The indicators are arranged according to the areas they pertain to: general economic background (Tables 26-1 and 26-2), employment (Tables 26-3 to 26-8), innovation and research (Tables 26-9 to 26-12), economic reform (Tables 26-13 and 26-14), social cohesion (Tables 26-15 to 26-20), and the environment (Tables 26-21 to 26-23). Some indicators are broken down by sex.

The individual countries whose indicator values are compared in the tables are arranged according to different geopolitical groups and then alphabetically according to their Czech names (see the end of the methodological introduction to this chapter for the English equivalents of the Czech names). The names are given in abbreviated forms.

‘EU 25’ is the European Union of 25 countries. Ten new countries joined the European Union on 1 May 2004 (the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Lithuania, Latvia, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia), which changed the EU 15 into the EU 25.

‘EU 15’ refers to the European Union of 15 countries (by 30 April 2004: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom).

‘Eurozone (11 countries)’ refers to the territory of the EU Member States which adopted the euro as the common currency in compliance with the Treaty establishing the European Community. The special supreme session of the European Union held in May 1998 stated that eleven of its countries had qualified for the introduction of the common “Euro” (Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain). The exchange rates of the currencies of these countries to the euro were permanently fixed as of the end of 1998 in the form of conversion coefficients.
In 2001, these countries were joined by Greece and the Eurozone (11 countries) has been the ‘Eurozone (12 countries)’ since. On 1 January 2002, the euro in the form of notes and coins was put in use in twelve countries of the European Union.

‘Candidate countries’ refers to countries striving for the accession to the European Union (Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and Turkey).

‘Other countries’ supplement the comparison by another 2 European countries (EFTA members) for which comparable data are available (Iceland and Norway) and developed economies (Japan and the United States).

Notes on tables

Table 26-1. GDP per capita: in PPS

Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in Purchasing Power Standards (PPS), EU 25=100. The volume index of GDP per capita is expressed as a percentage of the average for the EU 25. The data used to calculate the index are in terms of PPS—in a common currency that eliminates the differences in price levels between countries and allows comparing volume (real) indicators between countries, i.e. cross-country comparisons rather than comparisons in time.

Table 26-2. Labour productivity: per person employed

GDP in PPS per person employed relative to the EU 25 (EU 25=100).

Tables 26-3 to 26-5. Employment rate: total, males, females

Employed persons aged 15-64 as a share of the total population of the same age group. Employed men aged 15-64 as a share of the total male population of the same age group. Employed women aged 15-64 as a share of the total female population of the same age group.

Tables 26-6 to 26-8. Employment rate of older workers: total, males, females

Employed persons aged 55-64 as a share of the total population of the same age group. Employed men aged 55-64 as a share of the total male population of the same age group. Employed women aged 55-64 as a share of the total female population of the same age group.

Table 26-9. Gross domestic expenditure on research and development

Gross domestic expenditure on R&D as a percentage of GDP.

Tables 26-10 to 26-12. Youth educational attainment level: total, males, females

Percentage of the population aged 20-24 having completed at least upper secondary education. Percentage of the male population aged 20-24 having completed at least upper secondary education. Percentage of the female population aged 20-24 having completed at least upper secondary education.

Table 26-13. Comparative price levels

Comparative price levels of final consumption by private households, including indirect taxes (EU 25=100).

Tables 26-15 to 26-17. Dispersion of regional employment rates: total, males, females

Coefficient of variation of employment rates across regions (NUTS 2 level) within countries. Coefficient of variation of employment rates of men across regions (NUTS 2 level) within countries. Coefficient of variation of employment rates of women across regions (NUTS 2 level) within countries. The indicator is not applicable to Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, and Slovenia, as these countries are composed of one or two NUTS levels only.

Tables 26-18 to 26-20. Long-term unemployment rate: total, males, females

Long-term unemployed (12 months and more) as a percentage of the total active population aged 15-64. Long-term unemployed men (12 months and more) as a percentage of the male active population aged 15-64. Long-term unemployed women (12 months and more) as a percentage of the female active population aged 15-64.

Table 26-21. Greenhouse gas emissions

Total emissions of 6 greenhouse gases listed in the Kyoto Protocol converted into an aggregate value using CO2 equivalents and expressed by means of indices as a percentage change since the base year of 1990 (i.e. index 1990=100). The indicator is compiled to monitor the fulfilment of the targets to reduce the emissions according to the Kyoto Protocol and the Council Decision 2002/358/EC for the years 2008 to 2012.

Table 26-22. Energy intensity of the economy

Gross inland consumption of energy divided by GDP (at constant prices, 1995=100) expressed in kgoe (kilograms of oil equivalent) per EUR 1 000.

Table 26-23. Volume of freight transport relative to GDP

Index of inland freight transport volume relative to GDP, measured in tonne-km/GDP (at constant 1995 euro), 1995=100.

The data given in the tables are comparable with the data published in the Statistical Yearbook 2004. Owing to the accession of the ten countries to the EU 15 in 2004, the EU 25 has become a new basis of spatial comparability for some of the indicators. Furthermore, the formerly published values of the indicators may have been updated in some cases as a result of common data revisions carried out in the individual EU countries.
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A complete set of the structural indicators is available on the CZSO’s web pages: www.czso.cz/csu/czso/international_data.

Czech and English names of the countries
 
Belgie Belgium Japonsko Japan Portugalsko Portugal
Bulharsko Bulgaria Kypr Cyprus Rakousko Austria
Česká republika Czech Republic Litva Lithuania Rumunsko Romania
Dánsko Denmark Lotyšsko Latvia Řecko Greece
Estonsko Estonia Lucembursko Luxembourg Slovensko Slovakia
Finsko Finland Maďarsko Hungary Slovinsko Slovenia
Francie France Malta Malta Spojené království United Kingdom
Chorvatsko Croatia Německo Germany Spojené státy United States
Irsko Ireland Nizozemsko Netherlands Španělsko Spain
Island Iceland Norsko Norway Švédsko Sweden
Itálie Italy Polsko Poland Turecko Turkey