What Is a CPA Code? EU Statistical Classification of Products by Activity
What is CPA? The Statistical Classification of Products by Activity (CPA) is the European Union’s official product classification system for goods and services. CPA is structured by the economic activity that produces the product, which makes it the product-side counterpart to NACE and supports consistent product-by-activity measurement across EU statistics.
Why CPA Exists
Economic statistics often need a product lens, not just an industry lens. While NACE classifies activities, CPA classifies the outputs of those activities. That allows EU statistics to answer not only who produces, but also what is produced, using a consistent structure across Member States.
What the producer does
What that activity produces
CPA and NACE Alignment
CPA is designed so that product headings are assignable to a single heading in NACE. That structural alignment is what makes CPA the product-by-activity counterpart to the EU activity classification.
Practical meaning: NACE gives you the activity framework. CPA gives you the product framework built on top of that activity logic.
The EU “Data Bridge”: One Activity, Many Products
A single economic activity frequently produces multiple distinct products. CPA makes this one-to-many relationship measurable in a standardized way.
Milk · Cheese · Whey · Cream
CPA Hierarchy
CPA mirrors NACE through the class level, then extends into product categories and subcategories for more detailed product statistics.
How to Read a CPA Code
CPA codes are commonly written with dot notation, such as 08.11.11, for readability. In some databases or data warehouses, the same code may appear in a flat numeric form such as 081111. Both represent the same classification, but the notation should be normalized before matching or joining data.
Data handling tip: when cleaning datasets or building SQL joins, always normalize CPA codes to one consistent format before matching.
How CPA Fits into the EU Classification Ecosystem
Industry activity
Product by activity
Trade goods for customs and trade reporting
CPA is also related to the UN Central Product Classification (CPC), but CPA is arranged to preserve its direct alignment with NACE for EU statistical work.
CPA and PRODCOM
CPA provides the product classification structure. PRODCOM is the EU’s industrial production survey and list framework that uses a more detailed coding layer for actual production reporting by manufacturers.
Authority note: CPA provides the taxonomy. PRODCOM provides the collected industrial production detail built on top of that taxonomy.
Versions and Current Updates
CPA version 2.1 was used for European statistics from 2015 through 2024. Eurostat states that the newest version is CPA 2.2, adopted in 2024 and applicable for data transmissions to Eurostat from 2025 onward. That means CPA 2.2 is the current official reference in 2026, while CPA 2.1 will still appear in many legacy datasets and documentation. ([ec.europa.eu](https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/cpa))
| Version | Status | Practical note |
|---|---|---|
| CPA 2.1 | Historical reference for 2015–2024 use | Still common in existing datasets, tables, and documentation |
| CPA 2.2 | Current official version from 2025 onward | Use this as the default current EU reference in 2026 |
FAQ
- Is CPA the same as CN or HS?
No. CPA is a statistical product-by-activity classification. CN and HS are customs trade nomenclatures. - Does every NACE activity have multiple CPA products?
Often yes. CPA supports primary and secondary outputs within an activity framework. - Is CPA legally binding?
Yes. CPA is an official EU statistical classification used for European statistical reporting. - What is the current CPA version in 2026?
CPA 2.2 is the current official version. CPA 2.1 remains common in older datasets and references.