Major Standards of Industry Classification
1. Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS)
Developed by: MSCI and Standard and Poor (S and P)
Structure
- 11 Sectors
- 25 Industry Groups
- 74 Industries
- 163 Sub-Industries
Common Usage
- Investment research
- Financial markets (stocks, ETFs)
Example Sectors: Information Technology, Financials, Consumer Discretionary
2. International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC)
Developed by: United Nations (UN)
Structure: Hierarchical system consisting of:
- 21 Sections
- Divisions, Groups, Classes (progressively detailed)
Common Usage
- Global economic statistics
- Cross-country economic comparison
Example Sections: Manufacturing, Agriculture, Construction
3. North American Industry Classification System (NAICS
Developed by: United States, Canada, Mexico
Structure
- 20 Sectors
- Subsectors, industry groups, industries
Common Usage
- Government economic statistics
- Business reporting in North America
Example Sectors: Retail Trade, Health Care, Manufacturing
4. Standard Industrial Classification (SIC)
Developed by: U.S. Government (historical standard, mostly replaced by NAICS)
Structure
- 10 Divisions
- Major groups, Industry groups, Industries
Common Usage
- Historical data
- Legacy regulatory reporting
Example Divisions: Mining, Transportation, Finance
Comparison and Recommendation
Most Widely Used Globally
- ISIC (UN) for global economic analysis and statistics
- GICS (MSCI and S and P) for financial market analysis and investment purposes
Most Used Regionally
- NAICS is dominant in North America (USA, Canada, Mexico) for government reporting and economic data.