Archived - Standard Industrial Classification - Establishments (SIC-E) 1980

N - Government Service Industries

Many government establishments engage in activities which are also carried out by non-government establishments and as a consequence such government establishments are classified to the same industrial category as their non-government counterparts. There remain however, three types of government establishments engaged in activities which are not found in the non-government universe and which are therefore, identified as providing Government Services. These are:
a) establishments engaged in activities of a purely governmental nature - national defence, public order and safety, immigration services, foreign affairs and international assistance, and general services which cover government activities (e.g. legislatures, taxation, etc.);
b) establishments which direct, support, control and otherwise administer activities carried on largely, but by no means exclusively, by non-government establishments. These activities can be grouped into those which relate to the maintenance and development of human resources and those whose primary concern is with economic development;
c) establishments such as small municipalities which may engage in a wide range of government and non-government activities but whose size precludes the possibility of producing principal statistics for each of these activities.