Introduction
The United Nations Statistical Commission at its fifty-third session in 2022 endorsed the launching of a regular global assessment on the status of implementation of statistical business register (SBR) in countries and encouraged close coordination with the Wiesbaden Group on Business Registers and other relevant groups (decision 53/119 E/2022/24-E/CN.3/2022/41).
The global assessment was conducted for the first time in 2025 by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) under the auspices of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Business and Trade Statistics (UNCEBTS). The questionnaire was developed by the Task Team on Statistical Business Registers under UNCEBTS collaboration with the Wiesbaden Group. It is based on the Country Progress Report and the self-assessment questionnaire of the Manual on the Maturity Model for Statistical Business Registers.
The 2025 assessment aimed at gaining a better understanding of national SBR implementation and at identifying priority areas for technical assistance and methodological development. The responses emphasized the need for capacity building in statistical business register maintenance, exploration of new data sources and modernization of the statistical business register.
Key Findings
Response rate: A total of 105 responses were received from 104 countries or areas in 2025, representing a significant increase in total response compared to the last two Wiesbaden Group meetings.
Establishment and Maintenance: 98 responses from 97 countries or areas reported the year their SBR was established. Of these, 72 indicated that their maintenance and update procedures are well established and regularly reviewed.
Year of Establishment of the Register
Maintenance and Update Procedures
Data sources: Over 90% of respondents indicated the use of administrative data, censuses or surveys as data sources for the SBR. Survey-based data source (86 respondents), together with administrative sources from "Business registers (Company registration data)" (86 respondents) and "Taxation data" (85 respondents), are the most utilized data sources, underscoring the critical roles these datasets play in SBR maintenance.
Types of Data Sources among Administrative Data
Statistical units and size: The most common statistical unit identified was enterprises, cited by 89 responses. A key trend observed over the period from 2023 to 2025 is the notable emergence of smaller-sized registers, with approximately half of the respondents (46 respondents) reported having 500,000 or fewer active enterprises in their SBR.
Statistical Units Which Can Be Identified in the SBR or by Linking the SBR with Another Data Source
Change in the Size of the SBR from 2023 to 2025, in Millions of Active Units (Enterprises)
Coverage: Coverage of both non-financial corporations and financial corporations is relatively high in the SBR, where nearly 90% of respondents indicated they have either complete or partial coverage of these sectors. In contrast, the households sector shows significantly lower coverage, reported by only about 50% of respondents.
SBR Coverage
Geospatial information: Geospatial information is included by 77 respondents with "Area code / Postal code / Geographical location code" being the most frequently used type.
Types of Information Included in the SBR
Types of Information Included in the SBR among "Geospatial Information"
Survey Frames: Almost all respondents (97%) reported using SBR to create consistent frames for business surveys, confirming the crucial role of SBR as the foundational infrastructure for these surveys.
Is the SBR used to create consistent frames for some business surveys?
Development plan: The most common cited focus area of development in 2024 and future plans are "Maintenance and update of the SBR", "Data sources for the SBR" and "IT Environment".
Progress and Development in 2024
Future Plans
Challenges: "Data sources for the SBR" was identified as the main challenge for the development and maintenance of SBR, in addition to "Maintenance and update of the SBR" and "IT Environment". "Legal and institutional framework" received a notably higher number of responses compared to the progress and planning sections, implying this area remains a significant structure hurdle for many respondents.
Main Challenges
Maturity assessment: In the self-assessment of SBR maturity, Dimension 1 (Legal and institutional framework) received the highest number of "Advanced Stage" responses. In contrast, Dimension 4 (Coverage of the SBR) and Dimension 7 (Interoperability) were most frequently categorized as "Preliminary Stage".
Results of the maturity assessment
Of the 105 responses received, 97 completed all relevant questions concerning the self-assessment of SBR development. These completed responses are evaluated within the framework of the SBR Maturity Model based on the seven dimensions that characterize an SBR.
Status of SBR maturity stage in the world in 2025
| Preliminary Stage | Early Stage | Mature Stage | Advanced Stage | N/A | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dimension 1 | 5 | 23 | 0 | 74 | 3 | 105 |
| Dimension 2 | 0 | 13 | 32 | 56 | 4 | 105 |
| Dimension 3 | 7 | 49 | 0 | 42 | 7 | 105 |
| Dimension 4 | 43 | 27 | 0 | 31 | 4 | 105 |
| Dimension 5 | 6 | 35 | 1 | 58 | 5 | 105 |
| Dimension 6 | 18 | 28 | 31 | 23 | 5 | 105 |
| Dimension 7 | 37 | 19 | 13 | 33 | 3 | 105 |
Background documents
- 2025 Global Assessment on Statistical Business Registers
- Questionnaire
- Report on the 2025 Global Assessment of Statistical Business Register
- Results of the past Country Progress Reports are available here.
Chart
Topics
Events and Workshops
- Global Assessment on Statistical Business Registers 2025
- Global Assessment on the Use of Unique Identifiers for Businesses
- Regional course on Statistical Business Registers (Japan, March 2024)
- Regional Workshop on Statistical Business Registers and Industrial Classifications (Jordan, June 2024)
