ISIC (International Standard Industrial Classification)

The International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC) is the United Nations framework for classifying productive economic activities. It is the global reference point for economic statistics and is used by development banks to define which industries a project or loan targets.

What is ISIC?

ISIC organises all economic activities into sections (single letters), divisions (two digits), groups (three digits), and classes (four digits). For example, section C covers Manufacturing, division 21 covers Manufacture of Basic Pharmaceutical Products, and class 2100 narrows to that specific activity. The system is maintained by the UN Statistics Division and has been through four revisions, with ISIC Rev.4 being the current standard.

In international procurement, ISIC appears mainly at the project-design level rather than at the individual tender level. Development banks such as the World Bank use ISIC-derived sector codes to classify which industry a project falls under when approving loans and publishing project documentation. Consultants and contractors reviewing project pipelines encounter ISIC-aligned sector labels when reading country partnership frameworks or project appraisal documents. The system is closely related to the cpc (Central Product Classification), which classifies products rather than industries, and both underpin the sector-classification labels seen in MDB project databases.

Why ISIC matters for bidders

Suppliers monitoring MDB project pipelines use sector classifications derived from ISIC to filter opportunities by industry. Understanding that a project labelled under Manufacturing or Financial Services corresponds to a specific ISIC class helps bidders predict what kinds of consulting assignments and goods contracts will follow from project approval to procurement. ISIC also appears in firm registration and capacity declarations, where some agencies ask companies to state their primary ISIC code as part of vendor qualification.

FAQ

Is ISIC the same as NAICS?

No. NAICS is the North American standard used primarily on US, Canadian, and Mexican procurement portals. ISIC is the global UN statistical standard. NAICS and ISIC are conceptually similar but use different code structures and are not directly interchangeable.

How does ISIC relate to the UN's CPC system?

ISIC classifies industries (what companies do), while CPC classifies products and services (what is being bought). The two systems are designed to be used together in national economic statistics, and both feed into MDB sector-classification frameworks.

Where do I see ISIC codes in practice?

ISIC codes appear most often in MDB project documentation, country economic reports, and firm-level registration forms that ask for an industry classification. Individual tender notices more commonly use procurement-specific codes such as UNSPSC or CPV rather than ISIC directly.