The data are prepared by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, US Department of Commerce. Most of the data are based on annual and benchmark surveys which cover US business enterprises in which a foreign person owned (or controlled) a direct (or indirect) interest of 10% or more at the end of the US business enterprise’s fiscal year. The last benchmark surveys were conducted in 1992, 1997 and 2002. They provide benchmarks for deriving current universe estimates of direct investment from sample data collected in non-benchmark years. Between benchmark years, smaller affiliates are exempted from reporting; however, data for these affiliates are statistically estimated so that all estimates -- benchmark and non-benchmark alike -- represent universe totals. The Bureau of Economic Analysis also publishes data on majority-owned affiliates (those in which the foreign parents’ ownership share exceeds 50%). The data in this publication relate to all affiliates up to 1996, and to majority foreign-owned affiliates as from 1997. The data are electronically released annually and are also available on the Web site of the Bureau of Economic Analysis ( www.bea.doc.gov ).