How does NACE differ from NAICS?

NACE differs from NAICS in origin, in geography, in structure, and in the system from which each is derived. NACE is the statistical classification of economic activities in the European Union, derived from ISIC, the United Nations classification. NAICS is the North American Industry Classification System, used by federal statistical programs in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, as the United States Census Bureau states, to classify economic activities of businesses and governments, organising industries by similarities in production processes. A comparison between them is made through correspondence, not by matching code strings.

What is NAICS, and how is it structured?

NAICS organises industries by similarities in production processes, providing a consistent framework for collecting, analysing, and sharing statistical data, in the Census Bureau wording. It is reviewed and revised every five years, in years ending in 2 and 7, jointly through the Economic Classification Policy Committee of the Office of Management and Budget, as the Census Bureau states. The highest level in NAICS is the sector, and the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics present 20 broad sectors, from agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, through manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, information, finance, and other services, to public administration. NAICS codes are numeric, and they run from two digits at sector level to six digits at the most detailed level, in the structure presented by the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

What is the NAICS revision position?

The current NAICS revision discussed in the Census Bureau pages consulted is NAICS 2022. The Census Bureau states that 2022 NAICS introduced minor revisions, with content and coding updates across a broad range of industries, including the consolidation of some codes, and with the most significant changes in retail trade and information, where the use of the internet was removed as an industry distinction. The Census Bureau plans to transition most NAICS based programs and surveys within its Economic Directorate from 2017 NAICS to 2022 NAICS by the end of calendar year 2027 (EXPECTED, as stated by the Census Bureau as a plan), with two five year surveys transitioning later, the Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey in 2028 (EXPECTED) and the Commodity Flow Survey in 2030 (EXPECTED). The Census Bureau began disseminating data on the 2022 NAICS basis with the 2022 Economic Census First Look in January 2024 (FIXED, as stated by the Census Bureau).

How are NACE and NAICS compared?

NACE and NAICS are compared through correspondence tables, at the level where the two systems can be related, and with the mapping type recorded for each pair. There is no direct code to code translation that works for every category, because the two systems group activities by different criteria and at different levels of detail, even though both are derived from, or related to, the international system in their own ways. NACE is derived from ISIC, and it shares the same items as ISIC at the highest levels. NAICS is a separate North American system, and its relationship to ISIC is through correspondence, not derivation in the NACE sense. A reader who needs to compare a NACE figure with a NAICS figure should open the correspondence between the two systems for the versions in use, should record the mapping type, and should compare at the aggregate level where the mapping is direct, or describe the split where it is not.

System	Geography and custodian, as stated	Structure, highest to most detailed
NACE Rev. 2.1	European Union, European Commission, derived from ISIC	Section, letter, to class, four digits, 651 classes
NAICS 2022	United States, Canada, Mexico, federal statistical programs	Sector, two digits, to six digit industry, 20 sectors
ISIC Rev. 5	International, United Nations Statistics Division	Section, letter, to class, four digits, 463 classes

The table compares the three systems at the level of geography, custodian, and structure. It does not state a correspondence between any named categories, because no correspondence table between NACE and NAICS was consulted in detail for this guide, and a category correspondence from a secondary source would be unverified. The table is a system comparison, not a code translation.

What does the comparison not decide?

A comparison between NACE and NAICS does not decide the code for any unit, in either system, and it does not decide tax, licensing, funding, collective agreement or social security questions in any country. The comparison is a statistical exercise, for comparing aggregates compiled under different systems. The entry for a specific business in Europe is confirmed with the national statistical institute or the business register that holds the record, in the NACE or national version the register uses. The entry for a specific business in North America is confirmed with the statistical agency or register that holds the record there, in the NAICS vintage that record uses. A code in one system should never be quoted as a code in the other, and a correspondence should never be presented as a one to one guarantee where the table shows a different mapping type.

Where is each system confirmed?

NACE is confirmed in the Eurostat explanatory notes and the Official Journal text, and ISIC in the United Nations Statistics Division publications. NAICS is confirmed in the Census Bureau NAICS pages, which state the system, the revision, and the implementation timetable. A reader should cite the system, the version, the category, and the document consulted for each figure, and should keep the NACE and NAICS citations separate, with the correspondence between them cited as a third source, where a comparison is made.

Cite the system and version for every figure, compare through correspondence, and confirm a business entry with the register that holds it in that system.