International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC), Revision 4x
e rst revision of ISIC (ISIC, Rev.1) was issued in 1958, aer having been
considered by the Statistical Commission at its tenth session.
5
e second revision
(ISIC, Rev.2) was issued in 1968 aer proposals for the revision had been considered
and approved by the Commission at its eenth session, in 1968.
6
e third revision of
ISIC (ISIC, Rev.3) was considered and approved by the Commission at its twenty-h
session, in 1989, and issued in 1990.
7
e update to the third revision (ISIC, Rev.3.1)
was considered and approved by the Commission at its thirty-third session, in 2002,
and issued in 2004.
8
e third and fourth revisions of ISIC put increased emphasis on harmoniza-
tion with other activity classications and product classications, adding considerable
complexity and constraints that did not apply in earlier revisions of ISIC. As ISIC
occupies a central position in the international comparison and analysis of a wide
range of statistics, a great deal of attention was devoted to ensuring that ISIC would be
compatible with both the economic structure and the statistical practice and needs of
the dierent countries of the world. Both revisions have also introduced an increas-
ing level of detail, especially in the part dealing with service activities, reecting the
growth of this sector of the economy in most countries of the world. In addition, har-
monization with other classications has improved the usefulness of ISIC for many
analytical and descriptive purposes, such as within the context of the extended elabo-
ration of services in the Central Product Classication (CPC).
The fourth revision of ISIC
In the years since the publication of the third revision of ISIC, the economic structure
in many countries of the world has changed at an unprecedented rate. The emergence
of new technologies and new divisions of labour between organizations has created
new types of activities and new forms of industries, posing a challenge for both pro-
viders and users of statistical data. In response to their growing demands, the Expert
Group on International Economic and Social Classifications, at its fourth meeting in
1999, considered the need for a revision of ISIC to better reflect changed structures
and analytical requirements. Realizing that a full revision would require a longer time
to complete, the Expert Group recommended an update to the third revision of ISIC,
which became Revision 3.1 scheduled for 2002, to address some smaller immediate
concerns regarding the classification and at the same time start preparation for the
fourth revision of ISIC, which would be completed in 2006.
e objectives of the fourth revision of ISIC were formulated in terms of improv-
ing and strengthening its relevance and comparability with other classications, while
considering its continuity. Relevance reected the need to incorporate new economic
production structures and activities, while comparability determined the identied
need for a convergence of the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Clas-
sication (ANZSIC), the General Industrial Classication of Economic Activities
within the European Communities (NACE), the North American Industry Classica-
tion System (NAICS) and other activity classications used around the world. is
underscored the realization that comparability should be a very important factor for
the fourth revision of ISIC. Continuity reected the important restriction that changes
should only be made where the benets in terms of relevance or comparability out-
weighed the costs in terms of changes made to the previous versions of the classi-
cation. In later stages of the revision process, it became more and more clear that
continuity was an important element for many countries.
5
International Standard Industrial
Classification of All Economic
Activities, Statistical Papers,
Series M, No. 4, Rev.1 United
Nations publication, Sales
No. E.58.XVII.
6
International Standard Industrial
Classification of All Economic
Activities, Statistical Papers,
Series M, No. 4, Rev.2 (United
Nations publication, Sales
No. E.68.XVII.8).
7
International Standard Industrial
Classification of All Economic
Activities, Statistical Papers,
Series M, No. 4, Rev.3 (United
Nations publication, Sales
No. E.90.XVII.1).
8
International Standard Industrial
Classification of All Economic
Activities, Statistical Papers,
Series M, No. 4, Rev.3.1 (United
Nations publication, Sales
No. E.03.XVII.4).