Classification Detail
Central Product Classification (CPC) Version 3.0
Basic Bibliographic Information
Status:
Operational
Type:
To Be Determined
Citation:
N/A
ISBN:
N/A
Website:
Custodian:
United Nations Statistics Division
Available Formats:
PDF, Excel
Year Adopted:
2025
Year Published:
N/A
Available Languages (besides English):
N/A
Availability:
Fully available only in English.
Purpose of the Classification
Statistical Domains (in CSA 2.0):
2 Economic statistics
Purpose:
CPC constitutes a comprehensive classification of all products covering all goods and services, that are the output of economic activities and that can be the object of domestic or international transactions or that can be entered into stocks. It includes both transportable goods, non-transportable goods and services. CPC, as a standard central product classification, was developed to serve as an instrument for assembling and tabulating all kinds of statistics requiring product detail. Such statistics may cover production, intermediate and final consumption, capital formation, foreign trade or prices. They may refer to commodity flows, stocks or balances and may be compiled in the context of input/output tables, balance of payments and other analytical presentations. The CPC classifies products based on the physical characteristics of goods or on the nature of the services rendered. CPC provides a framework for the international comparison of statistics dealing with products and to serve as a guide for developing or revising existing classification schemes for products in order to make them compatible with international standards
Main Applications:
CPC was developed primarily to enhance harmonization among various fields of economic and related statistics and to strengthen the role of national accounts as an instrument for the coordination of economic statistics. It provides a basis for recompiling basic statistics from their original classifications into a standard classification for analytical use.
Main Users:
NSOs and academia, economists and statisticians working on national accounts, economic statistics, product statistics, international trade, etc.
Methodology
Scope:
Products, covering all goods and services that result from a process of production
Concept Being Classified:
Producgts (good and service)
Statistical Units:
goods and services
Main Principles:
CPC classifies products based on the physical properties and the intrinsic nature of the products as well as on the basis of industrial origin. The physical properties and intrinsic nature of products are distinguishing characteristics that are proper to the products themselves. These include, for example, the raw materials of which goods are made, the stage of production or the way in which goods are produced or services rendered, the purpose or user category for which products are intended and the prices at which they are sold.
Relationships to Other International Classifications:
Related To:
Major Differences (Scope, Structure, and Concepts):
HS 2022
With regard to transportable goods, a very close relationship exists between the Central Product Classification and the Harmonized System, as CPC subclasses in sections 0 to 4 generally constitute groupings and rearrangements of complete categories of the Harmonized System. In particular, CPC Ver. 3.0 five-digit subclasses are generally aligned with HS 2022 four-digit headings and six-digit subheadings.
The Central Product Classification and the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities are both general-purpose classifications, with ISIC representing the activity side of these two interrelated United Nations classifications. Each subclass of the CPC consists of goods or services that are generally produced in a specific class or classes of the ISIC, Rev. 5.
Classification Structure
Definition of Structure:
N/A
Revision Information
Chronology of revisions/versions of the classification:
Year Adopted:
Title or Version Number:
Website:
Official Adopting Entity:
United Nations Statistical Commission
Coordinating Entity:
United Nations Statistics Division
Documenting Website:
Reason for Latest Revision:
The Expert Group on International Statistical Classifications in its report to the Statistical Commission in 2021 recommended a comprehensive revision of the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC), and noted that a parallel revision of the CPC would greatly assist in the resolution of the issues pertaining to ISIC, the 2022 revision of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS), and the Standard International Energy Product Classification. Concurrent revisions of the activity and product classifications facilitated a cohesive review of often overlapping issues identified for both ISIC and CPC. In some cases, issues that arose during the ISIC revision were more appropriately resolved with changes in CPC, and vice versa.
Major Changes:
Although the structure of CPC Ver. 3.0 is different from its predecessor, the methodological aspects underpinning the scope, development and application of the classification remain largely unchanged. Some of the perceived changes are actually clarifications of the concepts or rules already used in previous CPC versions. The criteria for delineating categories within CPC remain the same. The application rules provided in CPC Ver.3.0 are the same as in CPC Ver. 2.1. CPC Ver. 3.0 introduced several major structural changes, including the treatment of data as a product , the introduction of non-financial intermediation services, the restructuring Research and Development division, the restructuring of Education Services division and the addition of new classes on environmental services . A more detailed discussion on the changes can be found in Part Five of the CPC Ver. 3.0 .
Corrections:
Yes. Information is available through documentation in the Registry of case laws. (https://unstats.un.org/unsd/classifications/Econ/Registry)
Supporting Documents
Coding Index Available:
No
Correspondence with Other Classifications:
Classification:
Correspondence Table:
Training Materials and Other Documents:
N/A
Contact Information
Agency / Office:
United Nations Statistics Division
Unit:
Economic Statistics Branch, Business Statistics Section
Contact Name:
Classifications Hotline
Email:
Website:
Address:
United Nations Statistics Division, DC-2 16th Floor, 2 UN Plaza, New York, NY 10017