Global Value Chains

Global value chains encompass all activities involved in bringing a product from conception to delivery to the consumer and eventual disposal. To remain competitive, enterprises split their production processes and use suppliers from different countries.

These statistics help explain how businesses organize their operations, where production takes place, and how these arrangements affect employment, wages, innovation, and business survival. Particular attention is given to international trade in goods and services, the relocation of business functions abroad (offshoring) - including its drivers, enabling and hindering factors, and its impact on employment. The data also make it possible to assess the effects of recent developments on global value chains.

An active enterprise (market producer) with an average number of employees and self-employed persons 50 and more during the most recent reference year.

Market producers classified in NACE sections B to N with an average number of employees and self-employed persons 50 or more during the most recent reference year.

• Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European business statistics, repealing 10 legal acts in the field of business statistics;
• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/918 laying down the technical specifications of the data requirements for the 'Global Value Chains' topic pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

Experimental statistics:

• Oral agreement in the context of the development of structural business statistics;
• The Parliament and Council Regulation No 295/2008 concerning structural business statistics provides a legal basis for the data collection.

Statistical database

The Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) on its website publishes information on the EU-27 and on each country separately. In Section: Global value chains and international sourcing statistics.

• For the period from 2021 to 2023.

For experimental statistics data:

• Statistical data on the international sourcing are available for the reference period from 2018 to 2020.
• The GVC arrangements and the statistics on the impact of COVID-19 are only available for 2020.

The data is comparable with the Structural Business Statistics.

The data source is survey elaborated by Eurostat and adapted for national needs by the CSB 1-GVC 'Global value chain'.

N/A

The statistical unit differs between data collection and compilation. 

Data are collected from enterprises as legal units (total of 1 696 in 2023), but compiled and published for enterprises according to the statistical definition of an enterprise (total of 1 604 in 2023).

Experimental statistics:

Data are collected from enterprises as legal units (total of 1 788 in 2021), but compiled and published for enterprises according to the statistical definition of an enterprise (total of 1 659 in 2021).