Appendix :Table 3
(Billion dollars and percentage)

  a Secretariat estimates.

Note:
As from January 1996, the IMF began compiling Balance of Payments Statistics according to the Fifth Edition of the Balance of Payments Manual, which has been harmonized to the extent possible with National Account Statistics (1993). As a result, WTO data on commercial services have undergone a substantial revision. The product coverage of trade in goods in BOP statistics has become very similar to that used in customs statistics (for example, processing trade and bunkers). Comparability between the national data and BOP statistics has improved as definitions of some transactions have been clarified, leading to a more uniform application of the guidelines. BOP statistics also now provide more detail on commercial services transactions and an extended capital and financial account section.

The impact of these changes on the WTO's commercial services data are (a) a lower "world total" for commercial services and (b) some major revisions in the ranking of the principal services traders as the repercussions of these changes affect countries differently. The accuracy of historical comparisons is also affected, as many of these changes cannot be taken fully into account for preceding years. Moreover, as countries are implementing these recommended guidelines only gradually, commercial services data will remain subject to further revisions in the near future. Because some countries had begun implementing these changes when compiling statistics for 1994, the figures in this table reflect, to a degree, the new definitions.