Philippine Standard Industrial Classification (PSIC), Philippines

The Philippines Standard Industrial Classification (PSIC) system is a comprehensive classification framework used by the Philippines to categorize industries according to their economic activities. It is managed by the Philippines Statistical Authority (PSA) and based United Nations’ International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC). The PSIC organizes industries into five levels ranging from broad economic sections to detailed sub-classes, providing a detailed breakdown of the country's economic sectors for statistical, regulatory, and policy purposes.

Metadata

Publisher type National
Publisher(s)
Jurisdictions Philippines

Current Version: PSIC 2019

PSIC 2019 was approved by the PSA in December 2019 and took official effect in October 2021. PSIC 2019 is the Philippine adaptation of the United Nation's (UN) ISIC Rev. 4.

Changes between PSIC 2009 and PSIC 2019

The changes between PSIC 2009 and PSIC 2019 were driven by internal needs rather than changes in the ISIC after which the PSIC is patterned. In PSIC 2019, 88 sub-classes were created, in many cases from the disaggregation of sub-classes from PSIC 2009. In section C (Manufacturing) several sub-classes were created across a range of items such as 10725 (Manufacture of coconut sap sugar), 14193 (Manufacture of sportswear), and 26123 (Manufacture of oscillators). In section D (Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply), the sub-class 35100 of PSIC 2009 was split into three new sub-classes in PSIC 2019 which are 35101 (Electric power generation), 35102 (Electric power transmission), and 35103 (Electric power distribution). Similarly, in section F (Construction), the PSIC 2009 sub-class 42200 (Construction of utility projects) was disaggregated in PSIC 2019 into four separate subclasses (42201-42204) each covering a specific type of public utility project. In section K (Financial and insurance activities), new sub-classes were created for financial activities that are particularly important in the Philippine economy such as 64996 (Remittance and transfer operations) and industry descriptions for different areas of banking were slightly adjusted in PSIC 2019.

Structure of PSIC 2019

PSIC 2019 was hierarchically structured into five levels as follows:

  • Sections: 21 sections denoted by alphabets from A to U.

  • Divisions: 88 divisions represented by two-digit codes.

  • Groups: 245 groups represented by three-digit codes.

  • Classes: 519 classes represented by four-digit codes.

  • Sub-classes: 1360 sub-classes represented by five-digit codes. This is the finest level of detail in PSIC 2019. While PSIC 2019 is patterned after the United Nation's ISIC Rev. 4 up to the class level, the sub-classes reflect the realities of the Philippine economy.

The table below gives a breakdown of each of the 21 sections in PSIC 2019. As is the case in other national classification systems, the manufacturing sector (section C) is the most detailed in PSIC 2019 with 497 sub-classes, followed by section G (Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles) with 195 sub-classes and section A (Agriculture, forestry and fishing) with 159 sub-classes. Moreover, the sub-classes in these sections show how ISIC has been adapted in PSIC to reflect the Philippine economic landscape. In the manufacturing section of PSIC 2019, there is, for example, the sub-class 10782 which covers "Manufacturing of native delicacies or "kakanin" e.g., bibingka, puto, suman, kalamay etc.". Similarly, in the agriculture section of PSIC 2019 there is a sub-class 01575 related to Abaca fiber, of which Philippines is the world's largest producer. With 1360 sub-classes, PSIC 2019's has more detail than other national systems in Asia such as NIC 2008 (India) which has 1304 sub-classes as well as others in Europe and the United States: NOGA 2008 (Switzerland) has 794 activities, the UK SIC 2007 (United Kingdom) has 191, SBI 2008 (Netherlands) has 478 and the NAICS 2022 (United States) has 1012.

Section

Description

Divisions

Groups

Classes

Subclasses

A

Agriculture, forestry and

fishing

3

12

52

159

B

Mining and quarrying

5

15

15

33

C

Manufacturing

24

73

201

497

D

Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply

1

3

3

5

E

Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities

4

6

8

8

F

Construction

3

8

11

19

G

Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles

3

20

46

195

H

Transport and storage

5

12

21

60

I

Accommodation and food service activities

2

5

6

26

J

Information and communication

6

13

23

45

K

Financial and insurance activities

3

10

20

49

L

Real estate activities

1

2

6

7

M

Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities

7

15

15

40

N

Administrative and support service activities

6

19

28

76

O

Public administration and defence; compulsory social security

1

7

9

12

P

Education

1

6

13

27

Q

Human Health and Social Work Activities

3

9

11

37

R

Arts, entertainment and recreation

4

8

16

27

S

Other service activities

3

10

18

38

T

Activities of households as employers; Undifferentiated goods-and services-producing activities of households for own use

2

3

3

3

U

Activities of extraterritorial organizations and bodies

1

1

2

4

Total

88

245

519

1360

Previous versions

PSIC 2009

PSIC 2009 was approved by the PSA in January 2010 and was in effect until its review in 2019. PSIC 2009 was patterned after ISIC Rev. 4.

Changes between PSIC 1994 and PSIC 2009

The changes between PSIC 1994 and PSIC 2009 kept in line with the switch from ISIC Rev. 3.1 to ISIC Rev. 4. There was a change in the name of the first classification level in the PSIC system from "Major Division" to "Section" and a great expansion in detail across all levels. At the broad level, four new sections were created in PSIC 2009. These include the section A (Agriculture, forestry and fishing) resulting from the merger of Major Divisions A (Agriculture, hunting and forestry) and B (Fishing) of PSIC 1994 and the section J (Information and communication) which brought together activities from three different Major Divisions of PSIC 1994. There was also a substantial expansion in the number of sub-classes from 1005 in PSIC 1994 to 1271 in PSIC 2009.

Structure of PSIC 2009

PSIC 2009 was hierarchically structured into five levels as follows:

  • Sections: 21 sections denoted by alphabets from A to U.

  • Divisions: 88 divisions represented by two-digit codes.

  • Groups: 245 groups represented by three-digit codes.

  • Classes: 520 classes represented by four-digit codes.

  • Sub-classes: 1271 sub-classes represented by five-digit codes. This is the finest level of detail in PSIC 2009.

PSIC 1994

PSIC 1994 (along with its 2002 amendment) operated in the Philippines from 1994 to 2009. It was modelled after ISIC Rev. 3.

Structure of PSIC 1994

PSIC 1994 was hierarchically structured into five levels as follows:

  • Major Divisions: 17 sections denoted by alphabets from A to Q.

  • Divisions: 63 divisions represented by two-digit codes.

  • Groups: 220 groups represented by three-digit codes.

  • Classes: 549 classes represented by four-digit codes.

  • Sub-classes: 1005 sub-classes represented by five-digit codes. This was the finest level of detail in PSIC 1994.

Versions prior to PSIC 1994

The first PSIC was released in 1954 and was aligned with ISIC Rev. 0 of 1948. It was followed by PSIC 1966 and PSIC 1977 respectively based on ISIC Rev. 1 and ISIC Rev. 2.

Where is it used?

  • Official National Statistics: The industrial boundaries defined in the PSIC are used extensively in data releases from the Philippines Statistical Authority (PSA) and other public agencies in the Philippines. The PSIC is also used for regulatory purposes by agencies like the Central Bank which identifies PSIC codes eligible for certain forms of investment as well as by the Competition Commission to monitor market competitiveness in certain sectors of the Philippine economy.

  • Private use: Businesses and analysts use PSIC codes to conduct market research, estimate the size and composition of particular industries in the Philippines (e.g. the shoe industry or the film industry) and to make informed investment decisions. PSIC codes can be linked to other databases to conduct different types of business and financial analytics.

Upcoming version

The PSA updates the PSIC every 10 years or whenever there is a new release of the ISIC. However, following the release of ISIC Rev. 5 in 2023, it is not clear how soon the PSA intends to update the PSIC considering that the current PSIC 2019 only took official effect in October 2021.

Further resources

Download UK SIC

Other resources