Database Guide: BMI

Quick Search

In the middle of the homepage, use the navigation bar in the blue banner to select from the drop-down lists for a Geography and/or a Service/Industry.

Search tip: Start by selecting a geography to view only the industries or services available for your selected region.

To change your search when you're on a landing page, in the upper right use the drop-down filters to change the Geography or Service/Industry.

Menu Search

From the menu in left-hand navigation, you can access an expanded search options including:

• Advanced Search – search for specific research articles and reports across the database using the search box at top. Once results open, you can apply additional filters.
• Bulk Data Export – download current and historical statistics from multiple datasets. The download instruction is provided on the opening page.
• Risk Indices – access the proprietary ranking system for evaluating the risks and rewards of doing business in specific regions and countries. See Risk Indices section of this guide.
• Project Data – data on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) projects, Global Mines projects, Infrastructure projects, and Pharmaceutical Manufacturing projects worldwide.

Geography and Service/Industry pages are uniformly structured with information organized under tabs. Data coverage can vary.

Generally, geography-service/industry page includes the following tabs:

• Overview – summary of key highlights from other tabs.
• Research – articles and reports. For a comprehensive report, select Reports sub-tab and look for the “report” titles like Germany Autos Report.
• Data & Forecasts – current statistics with a five-year forecast.
• Charts – visual representation of statistics in charts that are downloadable in data table format.
• Risk Indices – proprietary BMI risk indices that evaluate the risks of doing business in a specific country or region. Data availability varies by industry/country selection. For a brief explanation of BMI Indices, see Risk Indices section of this guide.
• Download Packs – a one-stop resource for downloading all industry statistics on quarterly and annual basis: 
  • Quarterly data covers the past seven years and the current year.
  • Annual data includes the past ten years, the current year, and a ten-year forecast.
  • Monthly data may also be available for some categories.

Risk indices is a BMI proprietary ranking system that serves to calculate risks of doing business in specific countries. It measures the risk factor against the global average on a scale from 0 to 100, with 100 being the highest risk. A negative score indicates that a risk factor is below the global average.
The database includes the following indices:

• Country Risk Index calculates the stability of political and economic conditions in a country. It is a composite score of the three Risk Indices: Political Risk, Economic Risk, and Operational Risk.
• Political Risk Index calculates the stability of a country’s political environment based on three risk factors:
  • Governance Risk - Potential for disruptions that can affect a government’s ability to govern effectively.
  • Society Risk - Potential for societal factors leading to civil unrest.
  • Security Risk - Potential threats to a nation’s stability and safety.
• Economic Risk Index assesses the effectiveness of a country’s fiscal policies and debt management.
• Operational Risk Index evaluates barriers of doing business in a country, such as labor supply, crime, infrastructure, trade regulations, etc.
• Risk/Rewards Index assesses the attractiveness vs risk of investing in a specific industry in a particular country with a score of 100 indicating a highly attractive investment environment.
• Banking & Financial Services Risk/Rewards Index evaluates the investment attractiveness in the banking and financial services sector in a specific country with a score of 100 indicating a highly favorable environment for investment, with high rewards (opportunities for growth and profitability) and low risks (conditions impacting the stability of return).

To access:

• On an industry/service-geography page, select the Risk Index tab, or
• From the left navigation menu, select Risk Indices. On the Risk index landing page, use the drop-down filters at top to pick a time period and geographic region. Results appear below the map. For individual countries, click the country name if hyperlinked.

Indices availability varies by geographies and industries. For detailed explanation of each index, select the Methodology at the top right to download the document.