New version of the European and national classification of economic activities

Revision of the European classification of economic activities NACE and of the national version SKD

On 1 January 2025, a new version of the European classification of economic activities, NACE Rev. 2.1, will enter into force in the European Union, and a new national version of SKD will enter into force in Slovenia.

  • 5 April 2024 at 10:30
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SKD 2008 currently in force

The Standard Classification of Activities (SKD) is the obligatory national standard used for defining the main activity and for classifying business entities and their units for the needs of official and other administrative data collections and for national and international statistics and analyses.

The SKD was introduced in Slovenia by a government decree in 1994 and developed on the basis of the European classification of economic activities NACE, so it follows the changes in NACE. The SKD is fully consistent to the fourth level (class) of NACE, and supplements it with national subclasses at the fifth level. Since 1 January 2008, SKD 2008 based on NACE Rev. 2 has been in use.

Revision of the European classification NACE

Classification of activities needs to adapt to developments and structural changes in the economy, to measure new phenomena and to ensure international comparability of data. The process of revision of the European classification NACE Rev. 2 was launched in 2019.

Taking into account the changes in economic activities in the years since the last revision (2008), a revised version of NACE Rev. 2.1 has been prepared at the European level. It was adopted by the Commission delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/137 and will replace the current NACE Rev. 2 starting on 1 January 2025.

NACE Rev. 2.1 is more disaggregated than the current NACE Rev. 2. At the lowest level, it has 651 classes, which is 36 more than the current version. Classes are grouped into 287 groups (15 more than the current), 87 divisions (1 less than the current), and 22 sections (1 more than the current) at the highest classification level.

More details on the revised NACE Rev. 2.1 classification can be found on the Eurostat website.

From 1 January 2025 on a new SKD 2025

In line with the revised NACE Rev. 2.1 and national needs, the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia has prepared a new national version SKD 2025. It was adopted by the Regulation on Standard Classification on Activities (OJ RS, No 27/2024, p. 2153) and will replace the current SKD 2008. The Eurostat has previously approved the consistency of the new SKD 2025 with the revised NACE Rev. 2.1.

Differences between SKD 2008 and 2025 

The new classification brings several changes and additions. There are major changes in the sections of trade, and information and communication activities. The revised version reclassifies all sections from K on by one letter as the current section J is divided into two separate sections.

Wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (current division 45) is divided into several activities: wholesale trade (division 46), retail trade (division 47), and repair and maintenance of computers, personal and household goods, and motor vehicles and motorcycles (division 95). 

In the section of trade, it no longer matters how the goods are distributed (in-store, online, stall, markets, vending machines).

Among the most important new features is the new definition of intermediary services at the group (level 3) and class (level 4) levels in most of the sections of activities.

At the lowest level, the new classification has 678 subclasses, of which there are 46 national subclasses (10 fewer than the current one). The following new subclasses have been introduced: 69.103 Bailiffs, arbiters and court experts, 80.011 Detective activities, 80.012 Private security, 80.019 Other investigative activities, 90.111 Literary creation, 90.112 Musical composition activities and 96.991 Tattooing and piercing.

The main differences between the new classification and the current one are described in the document Differences between the SKD 2008 and SKD 2025 (in Slovenian language only).

The new SKD 2025 and the correspondence table between SKD 2008 and SKD 2025 are available on the classification and nomenclature portal KLASJE (in Slovenian language only).

The explanatory notes to the new SKD 2025 will be adopted by the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia and published on its website.

More information about the SKD can be found on the SURS website (ECONOMIC CLASSIFICATION, SKD – Standard Classification of Activities).

When making use of the data and information of the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia, always add: "Source: SURS". More: Copyright.