System of National Accounts 2025: Overview of Key Methodological Changes

The relevance of the article stems from the ongoing transition of national statistical offices to the implementation of the new international macroeconomic accounting standard, SNA 2025. This standard defines modern approaches to measuring economic activity in the context of globalization and digitalization and incorporates assessments of well‑being and sustainability.The subject of the paper is the set of innovations introduced in the latest version of the System of National Accounts, examined through comparison with the SNA 2008.The purpose of the article is to identify and systematize the key features of the new methodology for compiling national accounts. The main objectives include describing the conceptual and structural changes in the SNA 2025; clarifying the meaning of newly introduced terms; refining existing definitions; and characterizing the revisions to classifications, economic transactions, production boundaries, and the accounting framework for the household sector, among others.This first part of the article (published in this issue) examines the new conceptual approaches adopted in the SNA 2025 and presents the hierarchical structure of the system of national accounts, showing the coverage of transactions within each of its subsystems. Besides, attention is given to changes in the structure of the macroeconomic standard’s text; newly introduced terms and account names are identified. Also, revisions concerning the system of statistical units are examined; and refinements in the recording of both non‑financial and financial assets are outlined. Illustrative examples are provided to facilitate understanding of the innovations.Since no official Russian edition of the SNA 2025 is currently available, the new concepts and terms are presented in the author’s trans‑ lation. The use of these terms in Russian in official statistical practice may be approved following expert review by scholars and specialists in the field of statistics.