The System of National Accounts, 2008 (2008 SNA) is an updated version of the System of National Accounts, 1993 (1993 SNA). It is the fifth version of the SNA, the first of which was published over fifty years ago. At its thirty-third session in 2003, the Statistical Commission requested that the 1993 SNA be updated to bring the national accounting framework into line with the needs of data users. The 2008 SNA starts with an introduction and an overview and then presents the accounting rules, the accounts and tables, and their integration. These subjects are the topics of chapters 1-17, previously known as volume 1. Chapters 18 to 29 elaborate various aspects of the accounts, provide details about their presentation and describe some possible extensions to improve the usefulness of the accounts for a wide range of purposes