Spain: what does INE publish for CNAE-2025?

The National Statistics Institute of Spain, INE, publishes an explanatory document for CNAE-2025, the National Classification of Economic Activities, dated January 2025 (FIXED), which describes the review process, the main changes, the uses of the classification, the classification rules, the CodIA coding tool, and the implementation of the new classification in INE and in other organisations. INE states that it will gradually incorporate the use of CNAE-2025, starting from 1 January 2025 (FIXED), in the statistical operations for which it is responsible, to comply with European legislation.

INE also states that the classification is aligned with the European classification up to the third level, and compatible at the fourth level, where CNAE classes are subcategories of NACE classes. Spain therefore has a national variant that is more detailed than NACE at class level, while sharing the European structure above it. A reader should check the Spanish structure in INE documents and the European structure in Eurostat documents together.

What does the INE document state about the structure?

The INE document states the four level hierarchy: section by letter, division by two digits, group by a third digit, and class by four digits. It states that the classification is exhaustive, meaning all economic activities are included, and exclusive, meaning each activity must appear in only one category at each level. It gives a count comparison: CNAE-2009 had 21 sections, 88 divisions, 272 groups and 629 classes, while CNAE-2025 has 22 sections, 87 divisions, 287 groups and 664 classes, and NACE Rev. 2.1 has 22 sections, 87 divisions, 287 groups and 651 classes. The Spanish class count is higher than the European count because Spanish classes subdivide European classes. A reader must therefore never present a Spanish class count as a European count, or a European class as a Spanish class, without checking the INE structure. The counts describe the published structures. They do not describe which headings moved, and the correspondence tables are the record of movement.

Classification	Sections	Divisions	Groups	Classes
CNAE-2009	21	88	272	629
CNAE-2025	22	87	287	664
NACE Rev. 2	21	88	272	618
NACE Rev. 2.1	22	87	287	651

The table above reproduces the INE count comparison. The NACE Rev. 2 class figure in the INE table is 618, which differs from the Destatis figure of 615 for WZ 2008. The difference reflects different national presentations of the European baseline, and this guide does not reconcile it. A reader should cite the count with its source, INE or Destatis, and should not mix baselines.

What consultations and tools does INE describe?

INE describes two consultations: an initial consultation between September and November 2022 (FIXED range) on a preliminary version, and a second open consultation between March and April 2023 (FIXED range) on a second preliminary version, through the INE website. INE also describes CodIA, a tool based on machine learning technology, which takes a description of the activity and, if known, the CNAE-2009 code, and returns a list of possible codes, to assist the user in obtaining the correct code. CodIA returns a list of possible codes. It does not assign a code, and it does not determine the entry for a specific business. A list of possible codes is a starting point for a search in the notes and the correspondence tables, not a determination. A reader who treats the first result of a tool as the code mistakes a suggestion for a confirmation. The technical documentation listed by INE includes the structure, the explanatory notes, the introductory notes, and the correspondence tables, all of which must be checked together.

What main changes does INE describe?

INE describes the main changes in the same terms as the European changes: new classes for intermediation, new classes for product finishing carried out by third parties in manufacturing, the same class for manufacturing parts and the whole product, new classes for military vehicles, ships and aircraft, removal of Division 45 with its activities under Divisions 46, 47 and 95, elimination of retail channel criteria, restructuring of electricity production by renewable source, restructuring of Division 38 with emphasis on reuse, restructuring of land passenger transport classes, and the split of Section J into Sections J and K, with later sections changing their letter. INE also states that 425 of 630 CNAE-2009 classes correspond to a single class in CNAE-2025, so that in most cases determining the corresponding code would be automatic, by consulting the correspondence tables on the INE website. That figure is Spain specific. It must never be presented as a European figure. It shows that most Spanish headings continue one to one, while the remainder need a note check.

What does a CNAE code not decide?

A CNAE code does not decide any question about a specific business beyond its statistical description. INE states that various organisations use the classification for non statistical purposes, including administrative purposes for taxes, social contributions and subsidies, but that in those areas INE has no responsibility over the use of the classification, nor over the regulations and administrative implications, and has no knowledge of the codes assigned to companies outside statistics. That statement is the clearest division of responsibility in any institute document checked for this work: INE publishes the classification and assists with coding, and other bodies decide their own questions under their own rules. The entry for a specific business is confirmed with INE or the register that holds the record. This site holds no register and decides no entry.

INE publishes CNAE-2025 with its structure, notes, correspondence tables and CodIA tool, it incorporates the new version gradually from 1 January 2025 (FIXED), and other bodies decide the non statistical questions that use the code.