Understanding the economy: four infographics to decode economic statistics

Published on 20th of October 2026

Household savings, business financing, international transactions, business failures, corporate performance, business outlook… What do these figures tell us about the economy? To mark the European Statistics Day on 20 October 2026, the Banque de France is making available a new educational webpage and four infographics to help readers better understand what these indicators measure , and why they are useful for analysing and understanding the economy.

Economic statistics play an important role in today's news. But what can they help us understand? This new webpage provides key insights to help readers better interpret economic data through four main areas:

Monetary and financial statistics, to understand how the economy is financed;
Balance of payments and international investment position statistics, to monitor France’s economic exchanges with the rest of the world;
Business statistics, to assess companies’ financial health and financing conditions;
Business surveys and negotiated wage statistics, to shed light on economic developments.

Essential explanations, key figures and four downloadable infographics provide an accessible introduction to each topic. Links to statistical publications and data available on Webstat offer opportunities for further exploration.

A new gateway to better understand economic news and the story behind the numbers.

To learn more, access the full publication here:

What are Banque de France statistics used for?

Updated on the 20th of October 2026