2. Guiding principles

The base year for this time series revision is the revised 2021 reporting year. The adjusted figures for 2021 were published on 23 May 2024. For users of national accounts statistics, rapid availability of consistent time series is of great importance. CBS is meeting this need by publishing the entire revised series on 24 June 2024, together with the regular figures for the first quarter of 2024. This early publication date is made possible in part by the use of mathematical algorithms and standardised methods to backcast time series in a largely automated way.

In estimating the time series, the following guiding principles were used:

• The time series covers the period from 1995 to 2021. Some time series are shorter, in line with the Netherlands’ European obligations.
• The SUT and LA time series are final and will, in principle, not be adjusted again until the next source revision. Parts of the SA’s non-financial and financial accounts and financial statements are reviewed annually.
• The length and granularity of the time series are in line with international obligations, and additional user requirements have been incorporated wherever possible.
• Algorithms were used as much as possible in backcasting the series, with gradual revisions over time. Only essential and substantial new information on the pre-revision years and quarters was included separately in the process (as so-called time series layers, see Section 3).