Introduction

Statistical business registers (SBRs) are the essential element of the statistical infrastructure to support the collection of economic data and the production of economic statistics. They provide a coherent set of units and classifications to collect and compile data across all domains, and a consistent set of rules to maintain this set of units over time. SBRs are considered as the backbone for producing economic statistics that meet the increasing demand for better integrated, coherent and comparable statistics across countries and statistical domains.

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 SBRs 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 on statistical business registers was developed by the Task Team on Statistical Business Registers under the United Nations Committee of Experts on Business and Trade Statistics in close collaboration with the Wiesbaden Group. The global assessment is based on: 1) the Country Progress Report of the Wiesbaden Group, which has been in use for many years before, and 2) the self-assessment questionnaire of the Manual on the Maturity Model for Statistical Business Registers.

What is the purpose of this global assessment?

The aim of this global assessment is to obtain a global overview of the status of implementation of the SBR in countries and to identify priority areas for technical assistance and topics for further methodological guidance and future work. The result of this assessment will be presented to the next Wiesbaden Group meeting in South Africa in October 2025.

Who is the target of this questionnaire?

The questionnaire is being circulated to the National Statistics Offices, and international agencies who keep regional/global registers.

How to fill out the questionnaire?

This questionnaire is available in two formats:

Your response to this assessment should be submitted by 16 May 2025.

Your input into this assessment is very important and your participation is greatly appreciated. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at [email protected].