The World Bank Enterprise Survey (WBES) is a firm-level survey of a representative sample of an economy’s private sector. The World Bank’s Enterprise Analysis Unit has been carrying out the WBES since 2006, when the Global Methodology was developed to standardize firm-level data collection efforts. The WBES cover a broad range of topics related to the business environment including access to finance, corruption, infrastructure, competition, and performance measures. The surveys also collect data used in the Business Ready (B-READY) indicators.
The Informal Sector Enterprise Surveys measure the characteristics and activities of unregistered businesses across the world. They follows a rigorous survey methodology, tailored questionnaires and a geographically-based sampling strategy, Adaptive Cluster Sampling, which discovers these businesses while also obtaining representative samples.
The Enterprise Analysis Unit carries out Micro Enterprise Surveys, which measure the characteristics and activities of microenterprises - those businesses with 4 or fewer workers - across the globe. In addition, other surveys run by the unit include the Covid-19 Enterprise Surveys, which measured the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on businesses. Other surveys include Innovation Surveys, Green Economy surveys, among others.
World Bank's Enterprise Analysis Unit
1818 H St, NW Washington, DC 20433
enterprisesurveys@worldbank.org