A SWS resources

SWS resources are R modules, data tables, data sets, and code lists comprising a migration framework. Data tables are typically used as auxiliary data to help R modules to achieve their goals. The statistical domains in SWS, through code/reference lists, define the dimensions of the datasets. Therefore, datasets are primarily used to store code list - referenced values as either input and output in the SWS.

A.1 Code lists

Code lists, also called reference lists in SWS parlance, are the dimensions making up the data sets that are designed by the user to store analytical results from SWS modules. The dimensions are statistical-domain-specific and are defined by the technical unit to reflect its needs regarding data collection, processing, and dissemination while meeting FAO standards. Each data set dimension has a set of codes and their associated descriptions. Thus, code lists serve to the purpose of standardization, visualization, and metadata by associating standardized codes to standardized names in the SWS data set outputs. A typical SWS compliant data set has, therefore, the following dimensions/reference lists:

  • Geographic area. Representing a spatial scale the information is measured at. For example, countries, territories, regional aggregates, regional special groups aggregates, global aggregates. In SWS, the geographic area dimension used by Forestry Production and Trade data sets is named geographicAreaM49.

  • Items. Those one wants to take a measurement from. For example, commodities, commodity groups, land use types, species, etc. Typical item dimension names are measuredItemCPC, *measuredItemHS, measuredItem. In SWS, the item dimension used by Forestry Production and Trade data sets is named measuredItemForestry.

Table A.1: Forestry commodity codes in the measuredItemForestry code list.
ItemName ItemCode ItemName ItemCode ItemName ItemCode ItemName ItemCode
Sawlogs and veneer logs, coniferous 1601 Recovered fibre pulp 1609 Builder’s joinery and carpentry of wood 1653 Other fibreboard 1650
Pulpwood, round and split, coniferous (production) 1602 Printing and writing papers, uncoated, wood containing 1612 Wooden furniture 1658 Industrial roundwood, coniferous (export/import) 1651
Pulpwood, round and split, non-coniferous (production) 1603 Pulpwood, round and split, all species (export/import, 1961-1989) 1614 Prefabricated buildings 1659 Wooden wrapping and packaging material 1652
Sawlogs and veneer logs, non-coniferous 1604 Printing and writing papers, uncoated, wood free 1615 Prefabricated buildings of wood 1664 Builder’s joinery and carpentry of wood 1653
OSB 1606 Printing and writing papers, coated 1616 Composite paper and paperboard 1665 Mechanical wood pulp 1654
Pulpwood and particles, coniferous (production, 1961-1997) 1608 Case materials 1617 Special coated paper and pulp products 1666 Semi-chemical wood pulp 1655
Recovered fibre pulp 1609 Cartonboard 1618 Carbon paper and copying paper, ready for use 1672 Chemical wood pulp 1656
Pulpwood and particles, non-coniferous (production, 1961-1997) 1611 Wood chips and particles 1619 Household and sanitary paper, ready for use 1673 Industrial roundwood, non-coniferous tropical (export/import) 1657
Printing and writing papers, uncoated, wood containing 1612 Wood residues 1620 Packaging cartons, boxes etc. 1677 Wooden furniture 1658
Printing and writing papers, uncoated, wood free 1615 Wrapping papers 1621 Other articles of paper and paperboard, ready for use 1678 Prefabricated buildings 1659
Printing and writing papers, coated 1616 Other papers mainly for packaging 1622 Printing and writing paper, ready for use 1679 Chemical wood pulp, sulphite, unbleached 1660
Case materials 1617 Other industrial roundwood, coniferous (production) 1623 Articles, moulded or pressed from pulp 1680 Chemical wood pulp, sulphite, bleached 1661
Cartonboard 1618 Sawnwood, non-coniferous tropical 1624 Filter paper and paperboard, ready for use 1682 Chemical wood pulp, sulphate, unbleached 1662
Wood chips and particles 1619 Other industrial roundwood, all species (export/import, 1961-1989) 1625 Mechanical and semi-chemical wood pulp 1685 Chemical wood pulp, sulphate, bleached 1663
Wood residues 1620 Other industrial roundwood, non-coniferous (production) 1626 Chemical wood pulp, sulphite 1686 Prefabricated buildings of wood 1664
Wrapping papers 1621 Wood fuel, coniferous 1627 Veneer sheets all 1690 Composite paper and paperboard 1665
Other papers mainly for packaging 1622 Wood fuel, non-coniferous 1628 Wood products for domestic/decorative use 1691 Special coated paper and pulp products 1666
Other industrial roundwood, coniferous (production) 1623 Wood fuel, all species (export/import) 1629 Other manufactured wood products 1692 Dissolving wood pulp 1667
Sawnwood, non-coniferous tropical 1624 Wood charcoal 1630 Veneer sheets all, coniferous 2065 Pulp from fibres other than wood 1668
Other industrial roundwood, non-coniferous (production) 1626 Sawnwood, coniferous 1632 Recovered post-consumer wood 1600 Recovered paper 1669
Wood fuel, coniferous 1627 Sawnwood, non-coniferous all 1633 Sawlogs and veneer logs, coniferous 1601 Industrial roundwood, non-coniferous non-tropical (export/import) 1670
Wood fuel, non-coniferous 1628 Veneer sheets 1634 Pulpwood, round and split, coniferous (production) 1602 Newsprint 1671
Wood charcoal 1630 Veneer sheets, coniferous 1635 Pulpwood, round and split, non-coniferous (production) 1603 Carbon paper and copying paper, ready for use 1672
Sawnwood, coniferous 1632 Veneer sheets, non-coniferous all 1637 Sawlogs and veneer logs, non-coniferous 1604 Household and sanitary paper, ready for use 1673
Sawnwood, non-coniferous all 1633 Veneer sheets, non-coniferous tropical 1638 OSB 1606 Printing and writing papers 1674
Veneer sheets 1634 Plywood, coniferous 1639 Pulpwood and particles, coniferous (production, 1961-1997) 1608 Other paper and paperboard 1675
Veneer sheets, coniferous 1635 Plywood 1640 Recovered fibre pulp 1609 Household and sanitary papers 1676
Veneer sheets, non-coniferous all 1637 Plywood, non-coniferous all 1641 Pulpwood and particles, non-coniferous (production, 1961-1997) 1611 Packaging cartons, boxes etc. 1677
Veneer sheets, non-coniferous tropical 1638 Plywood, non-coniferous tropical 1642 Printing and writing papers, uncoated, wood containing 1612 Other articles of paper and paperboard, ready for use 1678
Plywood, coniferous 1639 Particle board and OSB (1961-1994) 1646 Pulpwood, round and split, all species (export/import, 1961-1989) 1614 Printing and writing paper, ready for use 1679
Plywood 1640 Hardboard 1647 Printing and writing papers, uncoated, wood free 1615 Articles, moulded or pressed from pulp 1680
Plywood, non-coniferous all 1641 MDF/HDF 1648 Printing and writing papers, coated 1616 Wrapping and packaging paper and paperboard 1681
Plywood, non-coniferous tropical 1642 Fibreboard, compressed (1961-1994) 1649 Case materials 1617 Filter paper and paperboard, ready for use 1682
Particle board and OSB (1961-1994) 1646 Other fibreboard 1650 Cartonboard 1618 Other paper and paperboard n.e.s. 1683
Hardboard 1647 Industrial roundwood, coniferous (export/import) 1651 Wood chips and particles 1619 Mechanical and semi-chemical wood pulp 1685
MDF/HDF 1648 Mechanical wood pulp 1654 Wood residues 1620 Chemical wood pulp, sulphite 1686
Fibreboard, compressed (1961-1994) 1649 Semi-chemical wood pulp 1655 Wrapping papers 1621 Veneer sheets all 1690
Other fibreboard 1650 Chemical wood pulp 1656 Other papers mainly for packaging 1622 Wood products for domestic/decorative use 1691
Mechanical wood pulp 1654 Industrial roundwood, non-coniferous tropical (export/import) 1657 Other industrial roundwood, coniferous (production) 1623 Other manufactured wood products 1692
Semi-chemical wood pulp 1655 Chemical wood pulp, sulphite, unbleached 1660 Sawnwood, non-coniferous tropical 1624 Wood pellets 1693
Chemical wood pulp 1656 Chemical wood pulp, sulphite, bleached 1661 Other industrial roundwood, all species (export/import, 1961-1989) 1625 Other agglomerates 1694
Chemical wood pulp, sulphite, unbleached 1660 Chemical wood pulp, sulphate, unbleached 1662 Other industrial roundwood, non-coniferous (production) 1626 Particle board 1697
Chemical wood pulp, sulphite, bleached 1661 Chemical wood pulp, sulphate, bleached 1663 Wood fuel, coniferous 1627 Veneer sheets all, non-coniferous all 1698
Chemical wood pulp, sulphate, unbleached 1662 Dissolving wood pulp 1667 Wood fuel, non-coniferous 1628 Veneer sheets all, non-coniferous tropical 1699
Chemical wood pulp, sulphate, bleached 1663 Pulp from fibres other than wood 1668 Wood fuel, all species (export/import) 1629 Veneer sheets all, coniferous 2065
Dissolving wood pulp 1667 Recovered paper 1669 Wood charcoal 1630 Pitprops C 1605
Pulp from fibres other than wood 1668 Industrial roundwood, non-coniferous non-tropical (export/import) 1670 Sawnwood, coniferous 1632 Pitprops NC 1607
Recovered paper 1669 Newsprint 1671 Sawnwood, non-coniferous all 1633 Pitprops Trade 1610
Newsprint 1671 Printing and writing papers 1674 Veneer sheets 1634 Poles Piling Posts C 1613
Printing and writing papers 1674 Other paper and paperboard 1675 Veneer sheets, coniferous 1635 Wood for Charcoal 1631
Other paper and paperboard 1675 Household and sanitary papers 1676 Veneer sheets, non-coniferous all 1637 Poles Piling Posts Trade 1636
Household and sanitary papers 1676 Wrapping and packaging paper and paperboard 1681 Veneer sheets, non-coniferous tropical 1638 Fuelwood 1684
Wrapping and packaging paper and paperboard 1681 Other paper and paperboard n.e.s. 1683 Plywood, coniferous 1639 Charcoal 1687
Other paper and paperboard n.e.s. 1683 Mechanical and semi-chemical wood pulp 1685 Plywood 1640 Black Liquor 1688
Mechanical and semi-chemical wood pulp 1685 Chemical wood pulp, sulphite 1686 Plywood, non-coniferous all 1641 Pitprop&Oth Ind Roundwd 5217
Chemical wood pulp, sulphite 1686 Wood pellets 1693 Plywood, non-coniferous tropical 1642 Printing+Writing Paper 5222
Wood pellets 1693 Other agglomerates 1694 Further processed sawnwood, coniferous 1643 Wrapg+Packg Paper+Board 5223
Other agglomerates 1694 Particle board 1697 Further processed sawnwood, non-coniferous all 1644 Other Paper+Paperboard 5224
Particle board 1697 Veneer sheets all, coniferous 2065 Further processed sawnwood, non-coniferous tropical 1645 Wood Charcoal 5247
Veneer sheets all, coniferous 2065 Further processed sawnwood, coniferous 1643 Particle board and OSB (1961-1994) 1646 Chips and Particles 5248
Sawlogs and veneer logs, coniferous 1601 Further processed sawnwood, non-coniferous all 1644 Hardboard 1647 Wood Chips, Particles and Residues 5249
Sawlogs and veneer logs, non-coniferous 1604 Further processed sawnwood, non-coniferous tropical 1645 MDF/HDF 1648 Recovered Paper 5252
OSB 1606 Wooden wrapping and packaging material 1652 Fibreboard, compressed (1961-1994) 1649 Chemical Wood Pulp 5503

  • Elements. Often representing a measurement that can be taken across different items. For example, area, production, share. In SWS, the element dimension/code list used by Forestry Production and Trade is measuredElement.

  • Time (the time unit the data is displayed for: year, months, etc). In SWS, the time dimension used by Forestry Production and Trade data sets is named timePointYears.

  • Flag (A standardized label indicating origin and/or nature of a number in the data set, e.g.  (Official number)). In SWS, the flag dimension used by Forestry Production and Trade data sets is named flagObservationStatus. Please check the OCS statistical standards and the flags document to understand the flagObservationStatus rational and obtain the description of flags.

Table A.2: Observation Status Flags Annotations
Flag Description Annotation
<blank> Official figure Observation reported to FAO by official statistical government agencies.
B Time series break Break observations are characterized as such whendifferent content exist or a different methodology has beenapplied to this observation as compared with the preceding one (the one given for the previous period).
E Estimated value Observation obtained through an estimation methodology (e.g. to produce back-casts) or based on the use of a limited amount of data or ad hoc sampling and through additional calculations (e.g. to produce a value at an early stage of the production stage while not all data are available). It may also be used in case of experimental data (e.g. in the context of a pilot ahead of a full scale production process) or in case of data of (anticipated/assessed) low quality. If needed, additional (uncoded) information can be provided through (free text) “comments” at the observation level or at a higher level.
F Forecast value Value deemed to assess the magnitude which a quantity will assume at some future point of time (as distinct from "“estimated value”" which attempts to assess the magnitude of an already existent quantity).
I Imputed value Observation imputed by FAO to replace or fill gaps in national data series, in line with the recommendations of the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities (CCSA).
O Missing value This code is to be used when no distinction is made between the reasons why data are missing. Data can be missing due to various reasons: data do not exist, are insignificant (or not collected because they are below a certain threshold), are unreliable, are not relevant for the period, or other reason not elsewhere specified.
M Missing value (data cannot exist, not applicable) Used to denote empty cells resulting from the impossibility to collect a statistical value (e.g. a particular education level or type of institution may be not applicable to a given country’s education system).
Q Missing value; suppressed Used when data are suppressed due to statistical confidentiality considerations.
N Not significant (negligible) An observation is below the unit precision level.
P Provisional value An observation is characterized as “provisional” when the source agency –while it bases its calculations on its standard production methodology –considers that the data, almost certainly, are expected to be revised.
R Revised Revised official figure.
S Exceptional event Exceptional events such as earthquake, massive forest fire, draught and flooding that occurred in the corresponding period that may have affected the observation or caused a missing value.
T Unofficial figure Observation reported by non-official or semi-official sources. Includes semi-official figure. Includes data from trade organizations (e.g. International Grain Council, International Sugar Organization etc.).
X Figure from international organizations Observations, both official and non-official, reported by governmental international organizations (e.g. UN, ILO, WB, UNESCO, Eurostat etc. specification on which international organization is provided in the metadata).


- Method (A standardized label indicating method utilized to obtain a number in the data set. In SWS, the method dimension used by Forestry Production and Trade data sets is named flagMethod. Please check the OCS statistical standards and the flags document to understand the flagMethod rational and obtain the description of flags.

Table A.3: Method flags
Flag Description
Unknown collection method
b Balancing item
c Copied from elsewhere in the working system
e Estimate automatically generated by a statistical algorithm (short: statistical estimate)
f Estimate manually derived, also on the basis of expert judgement (short: manual estimate)
h Collected using automatic data harvesting
i Calculated as identity (e.g. yield)
n Value not collected or estimated, but can be assumed to be negligible
p Collected (manually) from publications or databases
q Collected via a questionnaire (e.g. APQ)
s Calculated as sum (e.g. Grand Total, or High-income countries)
t Carry-forward estimate
u Value not known


The Forestry flags were mapped out into the SWS flag system as below:

Table A.4: FAOSTAT-SWS mapping for observations and methods in Forestry Production and Trade.
flagFAOSTAT flagObservationStatus flagMethod
F E f
W X dash
X X dash
Q blank q
Fp E t
Fc E i
Ft E t
Typical dimensions (SWS code/reference lists) composing a Forestry Production and Trade SWS - compliant input/output dataset

Figure A.1: Typical dimensions (SWS code/reference lists) composing a Forestry Production and Trade SWS - compliant input/output dataset


A.2 Datatables

Datatables are mainly used to store information helping R modules to output analytical results. Information in datatables can be of a number of types. For example, conversion factors, arithmetic formulas, mapping between flags, mapping between international classifications, etc. In SWS hierarchy, all data tables reside in a given statistical domain. Variable names (aka column names) in SWS Datatables are more flexible in terms of the names they can take than SWS datasets. One can find SWS Datatables naming variables as element_code, element_code_sws, element_code_faostat, etc. Likewise, columns describing countries across different data tables may have different classification systems. This flexibility in Datatables is beneficial as it allows to accommodate different auxiliary information. In the Forestry Production and Trade framework, the data tables are in the Forestry domain. Below is a list of current available and filled data tables in the Forestry domain.

Forestry Product Aggregation Elements

  • Datatable: Forestry Product Aggregation Elements
  • Domain: Forestry
  • Usage:
Table A.5: Columns description of the data table: Forestry Product Aggregation Elements
Field Description
Group Forestry item group
Element Element from measuredElement code list
Aggregate Flag of aggregate
Start Year First year of the aggregate
End Year Last year of the aggregate

Forestry Product Aggregation Tree

  • Datatable: Forestry Product Aggregation Tree
  • Domain: Forestry
  • Usage: A data table with group commodity and their primary commodities
Table A.6: Columns description of the data table: Forestry Product Aggregation Tree
Field Description
Group Forestry item group
Commodity Forestry item
Factor
Aggr.Pass

Forestry Aggregate Composition

  • Datatable: forestry_aggregate_composition
  • Domain: Forestry
  • Usage:
Table A.7: Columns description of the data table: forestry_aggregate_composition
Field Description
item_group_code Forestry item group code
item_code Forestry item code
agg_order Order of aggregation
first_aggregates First items to be aggregated

Forestry Countries Partners

  • Datatable: forestry_country_partners
  • Domain: Forestry
  • Usage:
Table A.8: Columns description of the data table: forestry_country_partners
Field Description
country Country name
partner Name of the Forestry partner

Forestry Domain Elements

  • Datatable: forestry_domain_elements
  • Domain: Forestry
  • Usage: An SWS data table storing relevant Forestry elements and used to filter input dataset.
Table A.9: Columns description of the data table: forestry_domain_elements
Field Description
domain_code Code of the Forestry domain
element_code Element code
element_name Element name
unit_name Unit of element

FS M49 regions

  • Datatable: fs_m49_regions
  • Domain: Forestry
  • Usage:
Table A.10: Columns description of the data table: fs_m49_regions
Field Description
fs_reg FAOSTAT area group code
m49_reg SWS area group code
group_area_name Area group name

M49 FS ISO Mapping

  • Datatable: m49_fs_iso_mapping
  • Domain: Common Domain
  • Usage: An SWS dataset data table storing the mapping between FAOSTAT and UNSD M49 codes used to carry geographic aggregations.
Table A.11: Columns description of the data table: m49_fs_iso_mapping
Field Description
group_area_code FAOSTAT group area code
group_area_name Group area name
fs_area_code FAOSTAT area code
fs_area_name FAOSTAT area name
m49 M49 area code
iso2 ISO two-letter country code
iso3 ISO three-letetr country code

Trade outlier tresholds

  • Datatable: Trade outlier tresholds
  • Domain: Forestry
  • Usage:
Table A.12: Columns description of the data table: Trade outlier tresholds
Field Description
item_code Forestry item code
element_code Element code
price_lower Lower price
price_upper Upper price

UNECE/ITTO Input Data

  • Datatable: UNECE/ITTO Input Data
  • Domain: Forestry
  • Usage: This data table is an input for the forestry_prod_trade dataset. It contains the partner’s data and it is used in the module Forestry_UNECE_ITTO_Input_Data. For more details check chapter 2.
Table A.13: Columns description of the data table: UNECE/ITTO Input Data
Field Description
geographicAreaM49 M49 country code
measuredItemForestry Forestry item code
measuredElement Element code
timePointYears Year
DataValue Value
flagObservationStatus Flag of observation
flagMethod Flag of method
MetadataValue_Source Source

A.3 Datasets

Datasets in the SWS are interchangeably used as module inputs/outputs and are composed by dimensions (aka reference/code lists). Because SWS datasets contain code lists following international standards as dimensions, there is little space for variation of dimension names across SWS datasets for the sake of standardization. The datasets in the Forestry domain are:

  1. forestry_prod_trade. The working dataset migrated from the current Input System into the SWS. It is expected to be periodically manually edited by the technical unit (FOA) team. Changes made on this dataset may involve the domain-knowledge replacement of values due to arrival of new data at the end of data cycles and cell-level corrections via domain-knowledge. Most importantly, after alterations, and if FOA wants so, this data set is used as INPUT to the faoswsForestryAggregation module. Details on the use of this dataset are in the (Chapter 5.

  2. forestry_prod_trade_agg. An SWS dataset serving as output of the faoswsForestryAggregation. It receives the geographic and commodity aggregations after whatever saved change in the forestry_prod_trade data set. Details on the use of this dataset are in the (Chapter 5.