Main Objectives & Methodology

National Accounts provide a set of statistical data for the purpose of economic analysis, decision taking and policy making. It is widely used as indicator of economic activity and measures the performance of the economy and other important parameters such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Gross National Income (GNI), Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) and expenditure on GDP on annual basis. Pakistan’s National Accounts estimates are prepared in the light of the UN System of National Accounts (SNA)-2008. A combination of approaches viz production, income and expenditure are used for compilation of GDP. However, production approach is used as the base approach for the estimation of annual GDP estimates. The current base/reference year of annual national accounts is 2015-16. To facilitate data users, a harmonized and consistent series of annual national accounts, with 2015-16 as base year, has been compiled from 1999-2000 onwards.

Pakistan Bureau of Statistics has also started compiling the Quarterly National Accounts (QNA), which provide the pulse of the economy at a shorter interval and helps policy makers to monitor the direction of the economy on quarterly basis and take corrective measures during the financial year so that the pro-growth policies of the government remain on track. QNA adopts the same principles, definitions, and structure as of the annual national accounts. The current base/reference year of QNA is 2015-16.

Periodicity

• Annual National Accounts are finalized in span of three years i.e. provisional (based on 6-9 months data in May) in first year, revised (whole year data) second year and final (audited data) third year.
• QNA estimates will be disseminated with a lag of three months (90 days), which is in line with the IMF’s Special Data Dissemination Standards (SDDS).

About NHA

National Health Accounts are an internationally accepted tool for collecting, cataloguing and estimating financial flows through health system regardless of the origin or destination of funds. It is designed particularly as a policy tool for improving the capacity of health sector planners to manage their health systems. NHA allows policy makers to understand how resources are used in the health system and to evaluate the impact of health reform on different stakeholders. NHA also allows for comparisons of health expenditures over different periods of time as well as cross-country. The NHA methodology organizes, tabulates, and presents health spending information in a standard format and set of tables that one can understand and interpret even without a background in economics or statistics by answering a few questions, (i) Who pays?; (ii) How much is paid for health care? (Resource mobilization, fairness of financial burden,…); (iii) Who are the important actors in health financing and health care delivery?; (iv) And how significant are they in total expenditure? (resource management: collection, risk pooling and purchasing,…; (v) How are health funds distributed across different services, interventions, and activities that the health system produces? (what is produced, who provides what services,…); (vi) Who benefits from health expenditure? (income, age, and gender groups, and regions).

Resources/Links

Guides/Manuals:

• A System of Health Accounts Published by OECD
• Guide to producing National Health Accounts (with special focus on Middle and low income Countries) Published by WHO
• Harvard Methodology
• National Accounts: A Practical Introduction (2003) Published by United Nations

National Health Accounts Reports:

• National Health Accounts Pakistan 2017-18
• National Health Accounts Pakistan 2015-16
• National Health Accounts Pakistan 2013-14
• National Health Accounts Pakistan 2011-12
• National Health Accounts Pakistan 2009-10
• National Health Accounts Pakistan 2007-08
• National Health Accounts Pakistan 2005-06

Country Reports:

• All Countries
• National Health Accounts – Bangladesh (1999-2001)
• National Health Accounts – India (2001-2002)
• National Health Accounts – Iran
• National Health Accounts – Srilanka (2000-2002)