On 31 May 2024, the national accounts changed base: with the publication of the detailed results for Q1 2024, they switched to “Base 2020”. Each year, the estimate for the growth of the macroeconomic aggregates is updated over the past three years to take into account any new information that has become available since the previous publication. However, on 31 May 2024, all aggregates since 1949 were modified. Changing base in fact means reviewing the methods, classifications and statistical sources used in the national accounting in order to best reflect economic reality.

Switching to base 2020 allows for the following:

- quasi-systematic review of the methods and sources used, in particular a readjustment against the balance of payments (for foreign trade and the rest of the world) and a readjustment of the business statistics data (for non-financial corporations);

- improve European comparability, mainly by introducing changes to the method to improve the way research and development activities and software production are measured, but also by modifying the way certain taxes, tax credits and subsidies are recorded;

- change the scope of institutional sectors, especially general government.

This change of base therefore affects not only economic quantities such as GDP, value added, consumption, investment and foreign trade, but also the accounts of institutional sectors, in particular the investment rate of non-financial corporations and the household savings ratio.

With regard to the quarterly accounts specifically, the general preparation method does not change: the principles are exactly the same as those used for the previous base. A change has been made, however: the quarterly profile for the years 1949 to 1999 will from now on remain frozen from May 2024, and only the quarterly profile from 2000 will be reviewed with each estimate. Previously, with base 2014, the quarterly accounts reviewed the profile from 1980 onwards.

This Focus is not intended to be exhaustive and readers are recommended to refer to the documentation on Base 2020 available on the INSEE website, in particular the document “Les comptes nationaux passent en base 2020” of which this Focus is a summary...