Industry classification systems organize businesses and economic activities into standardized categories. The correct system depends on the country or region, the organization requesting the code, the purpose of the classification, and the version of the standard being used.
In the United States, NAICS is the federal statistical standard, while SIC remains widely used in business data and selected government systems. ISIC provides an international reference framework, NACE is used for European Union statistics, UK SIC applies in the United Kingdom, and ANZSIC is used in Australia and New Zealand. GICS also classifies industries globally, but it is designed for investment analysis rather than official economic statistics.
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Crosswalks show related codes, not automatic replacements. See NAICS vs SIC for the U.S. comparison.
Updated: September 2026 · Reviewed by the SICCODE.com Industry Classification Review Team
These systems all classify economic activity, but they are maintained by different organizations and are not interchangeable.
| System | Primary geography or use | Current reference | What it is designed to classify |
|---|---|---|---|
| NAICS North American Industry Classification System | United States, Canada, and Mexico, with national implementation and detail | 2022 NAICS is the current U.S. manual. A 2027 U.S. revision is under development and is not yet the current standard. | Business establishments by similarity in production processes. In the United States it is the standard used by federal statistical agencies for business-establishment statistics. |
| SIC Standard Industrial Classification | United States | The 1987 SIC Manual remains the principal official U.S. SIC reference. | Establishments by industry under the established SIC framework. SIC continues to be used in business databases and selected government, financial, regulatory, and analytical systems. |
| ISIC International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities | International reference classification maintained by the United Nations | ISIC Rev. 5 | Economic activities using an internationally agreed framework that supports comparable statistics and provides a reference for national and regional classifications. |
| NACE Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Union | European Union | NACE Rev. 2.1, used for European statistics from 2025 onward | Economic activities in the EU. NACE is derived from ISIC and adds detail suited to European statistical requirements. |
| UK SIC UK Standard Industrial Classification of Economic Activities | United Kingdom | UK SIC 2026, effective from April 2026 | Business establishments and other statistical units by economic activity. UK SIC 2026 maintains international comparability with NACE Rev. 2.1 and ISIC Rev. 5. |
| ANZSIC Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification | Australia and New Zealand | ANZSIC 2006, Revision 2.0 | Businesses and other productive entities by predominant activity for industry statistics in Australia and New Zealand. |
| GICS Global Industry Classification Standard | Global investment and financial-market analysis | Maintained by MSCI and S&P Dow Jones Indices and reviewed regularly | Companies according to principal business activity for investment analysis. GICS uses sectors, industry groups, industries, and sub-industries and is not a government statistical classification. |
The organization requesting the code or the dataset being analyzed usually determines the correct classification system. Do not substitute one system simply because another code looks similar.
Industry classification systems have overlapping purposes, but they were not all created from the same structure.
ISIC is the United Nations international reference classification of economic activities. NACE is derived from ISIC and adds detail for European requirements. UK SIC 2026 was developed to maintain comparability with NACE Rev. 2.1 and ISIC Rev. 5 while serving UK needs.
NAICS is a North American system built on a production-oriented framework. It groups establishments according to similarities in how goods and services are produced. NAICS is not simply a national extension of ISIC, although correspondence work supports international comparison.
The U.S. SIC structure is a separate established classification framework. NAICS became the federal statistical standard in 1997, replacing SIC for that purpose, while SIC continued in business data and selected government and financial systems.
ANZSIC was jointly developed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics and Statistics New Zealand. Its framework reflects Australian and New Zealand industry while aligning with international classifications as far as practicable.
NAICS and SIC should not be reduced to “current” versus “old” systems. They have different structures, histories, and uses.
NAICS is the federal statistical standard for classifying U.S. business establishments and uses a consistent production-oriented concept. The official U.S. NAICS hierarchy extends to six-digit national industries.
The 1987 SIC Manual remains the principal official U.S. SIC reference. The official SIC hierarchy ends at four-digit industries. SIC continues to be widely used in business databases, customer and prospect classification, financial and insurance applications, market analysis, historical data, and selected government systems.
See NAICS vs SIC Codes for a detailed comparison.
Industry classifications are revised to reflect changes in economic activity and statistical needs. A code that was correct in one edition can move, split, merge, or be redefined in another.
| System | Current or latest reference as of September 2026 | Version note |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. NAICS | 2022 NAICS | The 2027 revision process is underway, but 2027 is not yet the current adopted U.S. manual. |
| U.S. SIC | 1987 SIC Manual | The official U.S. SIC structure ends at four digits. Commercial Extended SIC detail is separate from the official government structure. |
| ISIC | ISIC Rev. 5 | The United Nations Statistical Commission endorsed Rev. 5 in 2023. UNSD provides the Rev. 5 structure and explanatory notes. |
| NACE | NACE Rev. 2.1 | Used for European statistics from 2025 onward. Earlier time periods can remain published under NACE Rev. 2. |
| UK SIC | UK SIC 2026 | UK SIC 2026 became effective in April 2026 and replaced UK SIC 2007 as the current UK classification. |
| ANZSIC | ANZSIC 2006 Revision 2.0 | Revision 2.0 is the latest release listed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. |
When comparing data over time, record the classification system and version together. A label such as “NAICS 2022” or “NACE Rev. 2.1” is more informative than the code alone.
Many code systems appear in the same datasets, but they answer different questions. Confusing them can lead to incorrect classification or analysis.
| Question | Code family | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| What industry is the business or establishment in? | Industry or economic-activity classification | NAICS, SIC, ISIC, NACE, UK SIC, ANZSIC |
| What product or service is being produced, sold, or traded? | Product or commodity classification | NAPCS, CPC, CPA, HS, CN |
| What work does a person perform? | Occupation classification | SOC and related national occupational classifications |
| What instructional program or field of study is being reported? | Education-program classification | CIP |
| Which specific organization or government contractor is this? | Entity identifier | Unique Entity ID, CAGE, D-U-N-S and other identifiers depending on the system |
| How is a company grouped for investment analysis? | Financial-market industry classification | GICS |
For example, the U.S. Census Bureau describes NAPCS as a market- or demand-based product classification, while NAICS is supply-based and production-oriented. The same product can therefore be sold by establishments classified in different NAICS industries.
Crosswalks and correspondence tables are useful when moving between classification systems or versions, but they should not be treated as simple code substitutions.
This is particularly important for SIC-to-NAICS, NAICS-to-SIC, and historical version conversions. See NAICS vs SIC Codes for the U.S. comparison.
Industry classification can describe an establishment, company, enterprise, issuer, or another statistical or administrative unit depending on the framework and the system using it.
SICCODE.com provides industry-code directories, classification definitions, cross-system guidance, methodology resources, and business classification tools for users working with NAICS, SIC, and related classification systems.
For NAICS and SIC, the goal is not only to display a code. The classification should be tied to the activity being represented, the correct level of the hierarchy, the applicable version, and the requirements of the system using the code.
SICCODE.com also provides reference pages for international, product, occupational, and specialized code systems so users can distinguish industry classification from other taxonomies and identifiers that appear in business and government data.
The classifications and version information on this page are based on the organizations responsible for maintaining the respective standards.
Major systems include NAICS in North America, SIC in the United States, ISIC as the United Nations international reference classification, NACE in the European Union, UK SIC in the United Kingdom, and ANZSIC in Australia and New Zealand. GICS is a separate global company-classification framework used for investment analysis.
Use the system required by the agency, database, customer, filing, or workflow. U.S. federal statistical programs use NAICS, while SIC remains in use across business data and selected government and financial systems.
No. SIC is useful for historical datasets, but it also remains widely used in current business databases, market segmentation, financial and insurance applications, and selected government systems.
No. ISIC is the United Nations international reference classification. NACE is the European Union classification derived from ISIC and contains additional detail for European requirements.
UK SIC 2026 is the current UK Standard Industrial Classification as of September 2026. It became effective in April 2026 and maintains comparability with NACE Rev. 2.1 and ISIC Rev. 5.
Yes. The systems serve different purposes and can classify different units. A business can appear under NAICS and SIC in business or government data and also have a GICS classification in an investment dataset.
No. Industry codes classify the economic activity of a business or establishment. Product systems such as NAPCS, CPC, HS, and CPA classify goods or services. The same product can be produced or sold by businesses in different industries.
Sometimes, but not always. Classification boundaries differ, so one code can map to several target codes or several source codes can map to one target code. The target definition should be checked before selecting a final classification.