What Is an ISIC Code? (ISIC Rev. 5) | International Industry Classification
What Is an ISIC Code?
An ISIC code is the United Nations’ global reference classification for grouping economic activity. ISIC is designed to support international comparability by giving countries and institutions a common activity framework for official statistics, industry analysis, and cross-border data harmonization.
In practice, ISIC often acts as the comparability layer between national and regional systems such as NAICS and NACE. It is most useful when you need to standardize industry data across countries, document revision context, or map local systems into a broader global reporting framework.
Convert ISIC to NAICS
Find likely NAICS matches for North American reporting or operational datasets.
ISIC-to-NAICS Conversion Tool →Convert NAICS to ISIC
Translate regional North American activity codes into a global comparability layer.
NAICS-to-ISIC Conversion Tool →Understand NACE alignment
See how Europe’s activity framework relates to ISIC in practical reporting contexts.
What Is a NACE Code? →Practical scope: ISIC is primarily a statistical standard. Many businesses work directly with regional systems such as NAICS or NACE, then use ISIC as a comparability layer for international reporting and dataset harmonization.
Quick answer: ISIC, the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities, is the UN’s global reference system for classifying economic activity.
It is used to support international comparability in official statistics, economic reporting, and multi-country datasets by grouping activity into a common hierarchy.
ISIC Rev. 5 in 2026: Status and Practical Use
ISIC Rev. 5 is the current UN-endorsed revision. In practice, many datasets, tools, and national implementations still reference ISIC Rev. 4 during transition planning and phased implementation. Because of that, the revision itself should be treated as part of the data’s provenance.
What to record
- The ISIC revision used for coding
- Any cross-revision mapping applied later
- Whether the original code was assigned directly or converted from another system
Why it matters
- Revision changes can refine industry boundaries
- Longitudinal comparisons become weaker if revision context is missing
- Crosswalk outputs should be treated as analytical mappings, not identities
Practical rule: start from the predominant activity, then validate difficult cases such as outsourcing, mixed-activity operations, or platform-enabled business models before finalizing a mapping.
ISIC Conversion and Lookup Tools
ISIC is often used to translate data between global and regional systems. These tools help with that workflow, but the output should still be validated against the unit’s primary activity and the relevant definitions.
ISIC-to-NAICS cross reference
Identify likely NAICS equivalents for North American datasets, reporting workflows, and operating models.
NAICS-to-ISIC cross reference
Translate NAICS to ISIC for global comparability, international benchmarking, and multi-country harmonization.
Workflow note: for multi-country datasets, standardize to ISIC and record the revision. Then map to NAICS or NACE when region-specific reporting is required.
How to Read an ISIC Code
ISIC is a four-level hierarchy that moves from broad sections to detailed classes.
Worked hierarchy example
This example shows how a detailed ISIC class nests within broader levels.
Manufacturing
Manufacture of textiles
Manufacture of other textiles
Manufacture of carpets and rugs
ISIC Broad Structure (Top-Level Sections)
At the highest level, ISIC organizes the economy into sections. The section set below reflects the commonly used structure associated with ISIC Rev. 4, which remains a widely implemented baseline in many systems during transition planning.
| Section | Scope label | Typical coverage |
|---|---|---|
| A | Agriculture, forestry and fishing | Crop and animal production, forestry, fishing and aquaculture |
| B | Mining and quarrying | Extraction of minerals and mining support |
| C | Manufacturing | Transformation of materials into products |
| D | Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply | Utilities production and distribution |
| E | Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation | Water and waste systems, remediation work |
| F | Construction | Building, civil engineering, specialized trades |
| G | Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles | Distribution, retail, and vehicle repair |
| H | Transportation and storage | Transport services, warehousing, logistics support |
| I | Accommodation and food service activities | Hotels, lodging, restaurants, catering |
| J | Information and communication | Publishing, media, telecom, IT services |
| K | Financial and insurance activities | Banking, insurance, auxiliary finance |
| L | Real estate activities | Real estate operations and services |
| M | Professional, scientific and technical activities | Legal, accounting, engineering, R&D, consulting |
| N | Administrative and support service activities | Office support, facilities, travel, security |
| O | Public administration and defence; compulsory social security | Government administration and defence functions |
| P | Education | Schooling and training |
| Q | Human health and social work activities | Medical services, residential care, social work |
| R | Arts, entertainment and recreation | Cultural activities, sports, recreation |
| S | Other service activities | Membership organizations, repair, personal services |
| T | Activities of households as employers; undifferentiated goods- and services-producing activities of households | Household employment and own-use production |
| U | Activities of extraterritorial organizations and bodies | International organizations and similar bodies |
Global vs. Regional Classification Systems
ISIC is global by design. NAICS and NACE are regional systems built for their own statistical and administrative environments. They often map to ISIC to support international comparability.
| System | Scope | Primary role | Common use cases |
|---|---|---|---|
| ISIC (UN) | Global | International comparability | Cross-country reporting, global research, harmonizing multi-region datasets |
| NAICS | North America | Regional industry measurement | U.S., Canada, and Mexico statistics, operational segmentation in North America |
| NACE | European Union | EU statistical and administrative alignment | EU reporting, procurement and regulatory context, European datasets |
| SIC | Primarily U.S. legacy | Historical and legacy comparability | Historical datasets and older administrative or vendor files |
Conversion reality: a single ISIC code can map to multiple NAICS or NACE codes, and the reverse is also true. Crosswalks should be treated as candidate mappings, then validated against the unit’s primary activity and category definitions.
Applications of ISIC Codes
Economic and social statistics
Used in national accounts, employment analysis, productivity tracking, and structural business statistics.
Structural and comparative analysis
Used to monitor how industries change over time using a common activity framework.
Cross-border harmonization
Used to compare and align datasets that originate in different national coding systems.
- Statistical unit assignment: classify establishments and enterprises to support reporting and comparability
- Research and benchmarking: compare industry structure across countries and markets
- Global reporting: create a common activity layer for multinational analysis
FAQ
- Is ISIC used directly by businesses?
ISIC is primarily a statistical standard. Many businesses work directly with regional systems such as NAICS or NACE and map to ISIC when cross-country comparability is needed. - What ISIC revision should I use in 2026?
ISIC Rev. 5 is the current UN-endorsed revision, but ISIC Rev. 4 remains widely implemented in existing datasets. For defensible work, record the revision used and document any cross-revision mapping. - Can ISIC be converted to NAICS?
Yes, but mappings can be non-unique. Convert, then validate the result against the unit’s predominant activity and the category definitions. ISIC-to-NAICS Conversion Tool - Can NAICS be converted to ISIC?
Yes. This is common in multi-country reporting and harmonization. The result should still be checked against the organization’s primary activity. NAICS-to-ISIC Conversion Tool - How does ISIC relate to NACE?
NACE is the European Union’s activity classification. It is designed to align with ISIC for international comparability while retaining EU-specific detail. What Is a NACE Code?
Guidance Sources
These sources provide UN definitions, published ISIC materials, and UN documentation related to ISIC Rev. 4 and Rev. 5. They are provided as guidance references.