Where are the official correspondence tables published?

The official correspondence tables for NACE are published by Eurostat, on the Eurostat correspondence tables page, with links to ShowVoc, and described in the Eurostat manual. 2 and NACE Rev. 2.1, and correspondence tables between Main Industrial Groupings and NACE Rev. 2.1. The manual states that complete detailed correspondences between NACE Rev. 2 and NACE Rev. A table found elsewhere, in a vendor, consultant, or finder tool publication, is not the official table, even if it reproduces Eurostat data, and it must be checked against the official table before it is used.

What is ShowVoc, and what does it contain?

ShowVoc is described in the manual as a web based semantic platform that enables visualisation of the detailed structures of statistical classifications and their correspondence tables developed by Eurostat for many statistical areas. The information covers a general description, the structure of the classifications, in other words codes and headings, the explanatory notes including index entries whenever defined, correspondence tables between classifications, links to legal acts, and methodological documents. The Central Statistics Office in Ireland describes ShowVoc in similar terms, as an online platform for dissemination of the main statistical classifications, metadata catalogues and code lists, presenting information in human readable and machine readable formats.

ShowVoc is therefore the dissemination platform for the tables, not a separate classification. The tables on ShowVoc are the Eurostat tables, presented in a form that can be visualised and downloaded in machine readable form, as well as read on screen. A reader who uses ShowVoc must note the dataset and version consulted, because ShowVoc holds many classifications and many versions, and a table for a different classification, or for a different version of the same classification, will have a different dataset identifier. The dataset name for NACE Rev. 2.1, and the version label on the correspondence table, must be recorded beside any row quoted from ShowVoc, so that the row can be found again and checked.

Publication point	What it provides
Eurostat correspondence tables page	List of the two table sets, with links to ShowVoc
ShowVoc	Visualisation and machine readable form of structures, notes, index and tables
Eurostat manual, introductory guidelines	Passage on correspondence tables, type counts, table version cited
National institute pages, such as the Irish page	Description of the tables and links to ShowVoc and the manual

What does the manual add to the online tables?

The manual adds the passage that explains the tables, the type definitions, and the counts, with a citation to a specific table version. The passage states that the correspondences are of four types, gives the counts for each type, and cites the NACE Rev. 2 to NACE Rev. 2.1 correspondence table Version 1.05 as the source for the types. That citation allows a reader to check whether the table consulted matches the version described in the manual, or whether a later version has revised a row. A reader who quotes a type without noting the table version may quote a type that has since been revised, and may present a superseded row as current. The version label is therefore part of the citation for a table row, in the same way that the version label is part of the citation for a category.

The manual also adds the changelog summary that explains why the tables look as they do. Section 4 of the introductory guidelines lists the major changes, section by section, and the table rows for the classes in those sections show the detailed relationships that result from those changes. A reader who finds a surprising row in the table can therefore turn to the changelog passage for the section concerned, to see the major change that produced the row, and then to the notes for the scope of the categories in the row. The manual is the place where the table, the changelog, and the notes are gathered in one publication, even though the current table and the evolving index are disseminated online.

What do national institute pages add?

National institute pages add descriptions of the tables, links to the official tables, and copies of the documentation for convenience, but they do not replace the official tables. The Irish page states that correspondence tables showing the relationship between NACE Rev. 2 and NACE Rev. 2.1 are available on ShowVoc, and that detailed documentation, including the manual, the explanatory notes, and the correspondence tables, is attached to the page for convenience. The page also gives a contact for correspondence tables, for readers who need a copy. A national institute page is therefore a useful starting point, and a check that the national institute is aware of the tables, but the table itself must be read on ShowVoc or in the Eurostat publication, where the version label and the full row set are shown.

A national institute may also publish a national correspondence table, for the relationship between a national version and NACE, or between an old and a new national version. Such a table is a national table, for the national version concerned, and it must not be confused with the European table between NACE Rev. 2 and NACE Rev. 2.1. The national table must be checked in the publication of the institute concerned, with its own version label, and the European table must be checked on Eurostat. A row from a national table must not be quoted as a row from the European table, even where the codes look similar, because the national table may include a fifth digit or a national detail that the European table does not contain.

What must be checked before a table from another source is used?

Use the Eurostat correspondence tables page to find the official sets, use ShowVoc to read the current rows with their version label, and confirm any entry with the national statistical institute or the business register that holds the record.