ABOUT CODES

STANDARD CODE SCHEME

The codes

In the classification structure:

• major groups have a one digit code
• minor groups have a two digit code
• countries have a four digit code.

The following example demonstrates the code scheme for the countries comprising the minor group 'Southern Europe'.

'Southern Europe' is one of three minor groups of the major group 'Southern and Eastern Europe'.

3 SOUTHERN AND EASTERN EUROPE
	31 Southern Europe
		3101	Andorra
		3102	Gibraltar
		3103	Holy See
		3104	Italy
		3105	Malta
		3106	Portugal
		3107	San Marino
		3108	Spain

A two digit code represents each minor group. The first digit is the code of the major group in which that minor group is included. Minor groups are numbered sequentially within major groups. For example, the codes of the minor groups included within Southern and Eastern Europe are numbered 31, 32, 33, etc.

A four digit code represents each country. The first two digits are the code of the minor group in which that country is included. Countries are numbered sequentially within minor groups.

Countries are not given codes ending with 'zero' or 'nine'. These are special purpose codes.

• Codes ending in 'zero' are used for supplementary (not further defined, 'nfd') categories; 'nfd' codes do not form part of the classification structure.
• Codes ending in 'nine' are used for residual (not elsewhere classified, 'nec') categories.

Countries were originally listed in alphabetical order within minor groups. This order is disrupted when countries are added to a minor group.

What happens when there are changes

Because of political change in the world, it is necessary from time to time for the classification to have countries added or deleted. When a country is added to the classification, it is given the next available four digit code of the minor group to which it is being added. The available four digit codes are those ending in the numerals one through to eight (four digit codes ending in zero or nine are reserved as special purpose codes).

If a country ceases to exist as a separate entity it is deleted from the classification. Its code is not re-allocated to another country as this would complicate time series data. If a country is moved from one minor group to another, it will be allocated the next available code of the minor group to which it is moved.


CODES FOR RESIDUAL CATEGORIES

In each minor group of the structure, a four digit code is reserved as a residual or 'not elsewhere classified' (nec) category. The 'nec' category has a four digit code consisting of the two digits of the minor group followed by the two digits '99', Any geographic area within a minor group, which is not separately identified in the classification, and not part of one of the separately identified countries, is included in the 'nec' category.

Because of the comprehensive coverage of the SACC, it has only four residual categories:

	1199	Australian External Territories, nec
	1599	Polynesia (excludes Hawaii), nec
	8299	South America, nec
	9299	Southern and East Africa, nec

Residual categories are part of the structure of the SACC and should not be used to 'dump' responses containing insufficient data to code to a separately identified category of the classification (see Supplementary Codes).


SUPPLEMENTARY CODES

Supplementary codes are used to:

• process inadequate data in statistical collections
• represent country-like entities and groups of countries which are not part of the SACC structure.

Supplementary codes are not part of the classification structure. They exist for operational reasons only, and no data would be coded to them if sufficiently detailed information were obtained.

The supplementary codes are listed in the data cube from the 'Downloads' tab.

'Not further defined' (nfd) codes

'Not further defined' codes are used to code responses which cannot be coded at country level, but which can be coded to a higher level of the classification structure. This preserves data that would otherwise be lost.

'Not further defined' codes, enable data which can only be coded at the major or minor group levels of the classification to be processed within a collection, coded at the four digit level of the classification.

CODES ENDING IN TWO 'ZEROES'
Responses relating to geographic areas which cannot be identified as lying within the boundaries of a country, but which lie wholly within the boundaries of a minor group, are coded to that minor group. Such responses are allocated a 'not further defined' code consisting of the two digit code of the minor group followed by '00'.

For example. The response 'Great Britain' does not contain enough information to be coded to a country, but it can be coded to the minor group 21: 'United Kingdom, Channel Islands and Isle of Man'.
So it is coded to '2100: United Kingdom, Channel Islands and Isle of Man, nfd'.

CODES ENDING IN THREE 'ZEROES'
Similarly, responses relating to geographic areas which cannot be identified as lying within the boundaries of a country in the classification, or one of the classification's minor groups, but which lie wholly within the boundaries of a major group, are coded to that major group. Such responses are allocated a 'not further defined' code consisting of the one digit code of the major group followed by '000'.

Other supplementary codes

There are four other types of supplementary code.

Codes starting with:

• '000', are codes for inadequate data
• '06', are codes for economic and other country groups
• '07', are codes for economic and other entities
• '09', are codes for former countries and other geographic entities.

CODES STARTING WITH THREE 'ZEROES'
Four digit codes starting with '000' are used to code survey responses and other data, that cannot be allocated a country, minor group or major group code.

For instance, '0000' is used to code inadequately described survey responses, '0003' to code not stated responses, etc.

CODES STARTING WITH 'ZERO NINE'
Four digit codes starting with '09' are designed to code:

• responses relating to entities which are defunct because of political change, but which are still regarded as useful for statistical purposes, and
• entities which are no longer separately identified in the revised classification structure.

These codes have two purposes:

• to assist precise coding and to consequently preserve data that would be lost or coded to a broader category of the classification; and
• to assist in the reconstruction of entities no longer separately identified in the classification, for time series purposes.

In some instances, the '09' codes are used to code responses that would otherwise be coded to inadequately described. For example, the response 'Europe' is coded to 0911: 'Europe, not further defined' rather than to code 0000: 'Inadequately Described'.

In some instances the '09' codes provide a more precise alternative than the supplementary codes relating to the structure. For example, responses relating to the former Yugoslavia (which cannot be coded to its constituent countries) can be coded to 0913: 'Former Yugoslavia, not further defined' rather than to code 3200: 'South Eastern Europe, not further defined'. (See also Editing specifications).