Central Product Classification
The Central Product Classification (abbreviation: CPC ; German Central Gütersystematik ) is the classification of goods by the United Nations (UN). It has been in force since 1989 and is improved at irregular intervals and adapted to changes in the economy. The currently valid version is the CPC Vers. 2.
The aim of the CPC is to record all goods that can be the subject of a domestic or international economic transaction. Goods and services as well as tangible (land) and intangible (patents, copyrights) assets are taken into account . If the statisticians of the individual economies adhere to the CPC, then the economies, more precisely their production and their trade, can be compared with one another.
In addition to the UN, other organizations create classifications of goods, which today are mostly based on the CPC. The EU's goods classification is the Classification of Products by Activity (CPA, German: European goods classification in connection with the economic sectors , but this is not harmonized with the CPC, but with the economic sector systematics NACE or ISIC ), the combined nomenclature (CN) and the PRODCOM .
Web links
- the CPC on the homepage of the UN
- Entry in the Gabler Wirtschaftslexikon