Ask a Question
Ask a Quesion
Due to the high volume of queries we receive, we can only answer questions directly related to the Enterprise Surveys indicators and database. Please include the name of your organization and the country you reside.These are the most frequently asked questions (click to see answers):
About the Enterprise Surveys
In what year did the Enterprise Surveys begin?
The World Bank Enterprise Surveys began in 2002 following earlier versions of establishment business climate surveys based on a substantially different set of questions, approach, and survey methodology. How often are the surveys performed?
Country surveys are performed approximately every three years for most countries, with different countries surveyed at different times. How often is the Web site updated?
The Web site is generally updated every month with new surveys as they are processed and occasional revisions in data and methodology. New features and articles are added on an irregular basis. How many countries and firms have been surveyed?
This information can be found at the top of the Enterprise Surveys home page. For details about the countries surveyed, sample characteristics, and year of collection, see the sample description on the Methodology page. Where can I find the Investment Climate Assessments (ICAs)?
The Enterprise Surveys unit is not involved in preparing ICAs even though the data from our surveys is used in the reports. To access the reports, we suggest contacting the country desk or, if you are World Bank staff, access ICAs here. Where can I find the most recent survey documentation?
Questionnaires, sampling notes, and other survey documentation is available on the Methodology page. What is the best way to become familiar with the data and the Web site?
The pages devoted to an economy or the different topics from the home page show around 50 indicators that provide useful information and are available for a large share of countries and firms. Custom Query provides around 150 indicators including indicators that complement those available for an economy or topic, and allows splitting the data by firm size and other indicators. For an even more detailed rigorous analysis, the full survey data are available at the establishment level for those who have signed a confidentiality agreement. The pages devoted to an economy or the different topics from the home page show around 50 indicators that provide useful information and are available for a large share of countries and firms. Country and Firm Coverage
What types of establishments do the Enterprise Surveys cover?
Standard surveys include manufacturing, most services, and other sectors. Special surveys include worker surveys, informal or micro surveys, and hotel surveys. Some of the standard surveys have been aggregated. See more details. On what basis are countries chosen for the surveys?
Generally, we survey larger economies and more recently have surveyed countries on a regional basis. Repeat surveys will be done every 3 years. Why aren’t countries surveyed more often or more countries surveyed as in Doing Business?
The Doing Business data are based on the knowledge of a few experts in each country for a narrow set of questions whereas the Enterprise Survey data are based on answers to several hundred questions by hundreds of firms in each country. See a comparison here. The extensive resources required to conduct the Enterprise Surveys and the danger of survey fatigue on the part of the firms being interviewed makes it prohibitive to conduct surveys more often than every 3 years and generally only for larger economies. On what basis are firms chosen for the surveys?
Generally, we survey private sector firms using either a simple random or random stratified sampling methodology. See more details about the Enterprise Surveys sampling methodology. What years of data are available for different countries?
The list of countries surveyed and year of survey are available on the Download page and this Data Details sheet in Excel. For which countries are panel data available?
(Panel data is a cross-section of data with limited time series aspects.) Existing panels include India in South Asia; Ecuador and Peru in Latin America; Uganda, Tanzania, Mali, Senegal and Zambia in Africa; 27 European and Central Asian countries; Morocco and Algeria in North Africa and Middle East, all of which were surveyed using the same questionnaire within each year (there are a few differences in the survey instruments across periods). Data and Variables
In the standardized and comprehensive data, what are the meanings of "size_old" and "size_new"?
The variable "size_old" is based on permanent employment plus temporary workers only when the average duration in months for temporary workers in a firm is known, and just on permanent employment otherwise. Categories for "size_old" are:
- micro is up to 10 employees
- small from 10 to 50
- medium from 50 to 99
- large from 100 to 249
- very large 250 and over
- small is up to 19 employees
- medium is from 20 to 99
- large is 100 and over.