The net lending/net borrowing of the domestic sectors in the ESA is conceptually the same as the value of net lending/net borrowing in the international accounts. This is because all the resident-to-resident flows cancel out. It is also equal to the opposite of net lending/net borrowing of the rest of the world sector in the ESA. The net lending (+) or borrowing (–) of the total economy is the sum of the net lending or borrowing of the institutional sectors. It represents the net resources that the total economy makes available to the rest of the world (if it is positive) or receives from the rest of the world (if it is negative). The net lending (+) or borrowing (–) of the total economy is equal but of opposite sign to the net borrowing (–) or lending (+) of the rest of the world. The indicator is based on the national accounts data reported to Eurostat by the EU Member States.

The indicator measures the portion of national disposable income that is not used for final consumption expenditure. Net national saving is the sum of the net savings of the various institutional sectors, according to the ESA 2010 definition.