Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services

Foreword 
The 
Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services
has been developed and published jointly by our six 
organizations, managed through the mechanism of an inter-agency task force.
The Manual sets out an internationally agreed framework for the compilation and reporting of statistics of 
international trade in services in a broad sense. It addresses the growing needs, including those of international trade 
negotiations and agreements, for more detailed, more comparable and more comprehensive statistics on this type of 
trade in its various forms. The recommendations, which will be promoted by our six organizations, will enable 
countries to progressively expand and structure the information they compile in an internationally comparable way. 
The 
Manual
conforms with and explicitly relates to the 
System of National Accounts 1993
and the fifth edition of the 
International Monetary Fund’s 
Balance of Payments Manual
. 
The Manual has benefited from strong cooperation among the international organizations, the advice of specialist 
consultants, the invaluable input of a large number of member countries’ experts and the many comments received 
during the worldwide review conducted by the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund in 1999-2000. It 
is intended for use by national and international agencies, and we commend it to countries for progressive 
implementation, taking into account their national information needs, priorities and resources.
Hermann Habermann
Director 
United Nations Statistics Division 
Yves Franchet 
Director General 
Statistical Office of the European Communities 
Carol S. Carson 
Director 
Statistics Department 
International Monetary Fund 
Enrico Giovannini 
Chief Statistician and Director of the Statistics Directorate 
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 
Henri Laurencin
Chief Statistician
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development 
Roslyn Jackson
Director of the Statistics Division 
World Trade Organization 

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