ix

Historical background
The original version of the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC)4 was adopted in 1948. In that connection, the Economic and
Social Council adopted resolution 149 A (VII) of 27 August 1948, which read:
The Economic and Social Council,
Taking note of the recommendation of the Statistical Commission regarding the need for international comparability of economic statistics, and,
Taking note of the International Standard Industrial Classification of All
Economic Activities which the Statistical Commission has developed with the
advice and assistance of Member Governments,
Recommends that all Member Governments make use of the International
Standard Industrial Classification of Economic Activities either by:
(a) Adopting this system of classification as a national standard, or
(b) Rearranging their statistical data in accordance with this system for
purposes of international comparability.
Wide use has been made of ISIC both nationally and internationally in classifying data according to kind of economic activity in the fields of economic statistics,
such as for production or national income, employment, population and others. A
number of countries have utilized ISIC as the basis for developing their national industrial classifications. Substantial comparability has been attained between the industrial
classifications of many other countries and ISIC by ensuring, as far as practicable, that
the categories at detailed levels of national classifications fitted into only one category
of ISIC. An increasing number of countries have adapted their national activity classifications or can provide statistical series according to ISIC. The United Nations, the
United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the International
Labour Organization (ILO), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations (FAO), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) and other international bodies use ISIC when publishing and analysing
statistical data.
Experience in the use of ISIC has revealed the need for periodic review of the
structure and definition of its categories and underlying principles. Changes take place
in the organization of economic activities and new types of economic activities become
important, while new analytical requirements develop for data classified according to
kind of economic activity. Over the decades, continuing experience in the use of ISIC
and the corresponding national classifications reveal aspects that should be amplified, clarified or improved in other ways. For these reasons, the Statistical Commission
initiated reviews and revisions of ISIC in 1956, 1965, 1979 and again in 2000. While
continuity, i.e., comparability between the revised and preceding versions of ISIC, has
always been a major concern expressed by the Commission, the accumulating changes
in the economic structure and production patterns around the world require a careful
balancing of continuity with the need for relevance of ISIC and its comparability with
other existing industry classifications.

Statistical Papers, No. 4, Lake

Success, New York, 31 October
1949.