1. The National Statistics Office (NSO), with the cooperation of the Central Bank of Malta (CBM), is responsible for the collection, compilation and presentation of both the Balance of Payments (BOP) as well as the International Investment Position (IIP) statements of Malta. Both statements are compiled in accordance with the international guidelines set in the sixth manual of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as well as with the similarly-set methodological guidelines established by Eurostat.

2. Different data sources have been used in the compilation of the figures presented in this release. The main sources used include: (a) enterprise transactions data collected by the Commissioner for Revenue, which are then complemented with survey data; (b) customs data and INTRASTAT declarations, which are used as a source for merchandise transactions; (c) TOURSTAT and other administrative sources are used to compile data for the travel account; and (d) data published by the Bank for International Settlements, which advanced efforts to capture data on the household sector. These sources cover transactions relating to the current account, the capital account and the financial account.

3. The majority of the transactions that are collected through the above-mentioned sources are broken down by country. Survey data are important for breakdowns at country level but the availability of new data sources made it possible to micro-link different databases and improve the geographical breakdown of the re-invested earnings and property income paid to the rest of the world.

4. The data are compiled using a standard format and published at a quarterly frequency.

5. The data in this news release do not necessarily correspond to the latest published National Accounts data for the same reference period. This is due to different cut-off dates for the two sets of data.

6. Revisions are conducted on a quarterly basis with the previous data remaining subject to revision.

7. Adjustments for exports and imports of goods are made for BOP and National Accounts purposes, since merchandise trade data include imports and exports of oil made by non-resident companies having a Maltese VAT number. These are not considered as BOP transactions. Consequently, such imports and exports are being subtracted from the totals. Where necessary, oil imports by Maltese resident companies are imputed. Shipment data (freight and insurance) are measured from the c.i.f. INTRASTAT import data, while data for the travel account are collected from TOURSTAT and other administrative sources.

8. Figures are not seasonally adjusted and may not add up due to rounding.

9. More information relating to this news release may be accessed at:

Statistical Concepts
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10. A detailed news release calendar is available online.

11. For guidance on access and re-use of data please visit our dedicated webpage.

12. For further assistance send your request through our online request form.