The Standard Australian Classification of Countries (SACC) is the Australian statistical standard for statistics classified by country. It replaces and forms the second edition of the Australian Standard Classification of Countries for Social Statistics (ASCCSS) (Cat. no. 1269.0) published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) in September 1990. The SACC is a classification of countries essentially based on the concept of geographic proximity. In its main structure it groups neighbouring countries into progressively broader geographic areas on the basis of their similarity in terms of social, cultural, economic and political characteristics. The classification also provides standard alternative groups of countries associated for economic or political purposes.
The title of the SACC reflects its suitability for use in a wider range of applications than its precursor, the ASCCSS. The SACC is intended for use in the collection, storage and dissemination of all Australian statistical data classified by country. In the field of population statistics, the classification is intended for use whenever demographic, labour and social statistics are classified by country. For example, the classification should be used when collecting, aggregating and disseminating data relating to personal characteristics such as birthplace, country of residence, country of origin, etc. It is not intended for classifying correlative variables such as the language spoken by individuals or the ethnicity of individuals.
In the field of economic statistics, for instance, balance of payments, international trade, and international investment position statistics, the SACC can be used to collect, aggregate and disseminate data by country. For most of these data, the geographically based classification structure would not often be used, and the alternative country groupings based on economic and political considerations would be the principal basis for presenting groupings of countries.
The identification of country units in the classification, and the way in which they are grouped, do not imply the expression of any opinion on the part of the ABS concerning the legal status of any country, territory, or area, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
The ABS will use the SACC in its own statistical work and will promote its use by other government agencies, private organisations, community groups, and individuals, where appropriate. The SACC is an Australian statistical standard and should be used for the production and dissemination of all official Australian statistics classified by country. The SACC is available in electronic form: Standard Australian Classification of Countries (SACC) — on Floppy Disk (Cat. no. 1269.0.15.001), and can be obtained by referring to the information on the back page of this publication.
From time to time world political change will result in a need to make amendments to this classification document. The ABS will monitor the need for change and issue formal revisions to the SACC in a timely fashion. In order that the classification document remains a standard, users are urged to implement changes to their systems only as the ABS issues the revision documents. Because the SACC includes a number of standard country groupings based on the member countries of formal associations, such as the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), and because the membership of these groups changes regularly, revision notices are likely to be needed more frequently for the SACC than was the case with the ASCCSS. Revisions to the membership of these associations and organisations of countries will not affect users of the main geographically based classification structure.
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