Resource Desk

@rating is developed by Coface and provides risk ratings for 154 countries around the globe. It also ranks 13 different sectors (industries) in terms of risk. Ratings for countries are based on 7 different criteria: Growth vulnerability; Foreign currency liquidity crisis; External over indebtedness; Sovereign financial vulnerability; Banking sector's fragilities; Fragility of governance and geopolitical environment; and Companies' payment behaviour.

A list classifying various countries into the level of risk inherent in the country's governmental, economic, and social stability factors. The methodology uses country risk analysis to determine how the factors outside an insurer's control affect its ability to meet its obligations to its policyholders. The site also contains reports and data available for purchase.

The Globalization Index is the rankings of 72 key advanced and emerging markets worldwide based on levels of economic, social, technological and political integration with the rest of the world. The complete rankings, information about methodology, and expert analysis is all provided on the site.

An annual survey which tracks the impact of likely political, economic and regulatory changes on the foreign direct investment intentions and preferences of CEOs, CFOs and other top executives of Global 1000 companies. The report includes detailed commentary on the markets and the impact a variety of global trade issues have on their FDI attractiveness, as well as a ranking of the top 25 countries. For 2007, only the highlights of the report are available. Last report that was available in its entirety was the 2005 Confidence Index. Last update: December 2007.

The A.T. Kearney Global Retail Development Index ranks emerging countries based on 4 key variables: country risk, market attractiveness, market saturation and time pressure. In addition to the current year's index, the reports for the past year's can be accessed from the links on the left side of the page.

The annual Global Services Location Index (formerly called the Offshore Location Attractiveness Index) is a tool to help companies understand and compare the factors that make countries attractive as potential location for offshore services. It measures the viability of countries as an offshore destination based on their financial attractiveness, people and skills availability, and business environment. The report and ranking files are available in PDF format.

Anholt-GMI provides a quarterly ranking of the world's nation brands, based on a polling of consumers worldwide. It measures the perceptions of the cultural, political, commercial, and human assets. This is complemented with perceptions of investment potential and tourist appeal of countries being ranked. Registration (free) is required to access the rankings which are provided as PDF reports.

The Annual Competitiveness Report (ACR) benchmarks Ireland's performance for 140 key competitiveness indicators against 16 other countries. The online version of the ACR includes an option to view the source data tables for all charts and graphs. Alternatively, you can download the report in PDF format using the links on the left.

AON Insurance and Risk Management Company has created a map summarizing the Political and Economic Risks of over 200 countries or territories in the world. In addition, the map contains supply chain disruption events and threats.

An annual ranking that grades 21 rich nations on how their aid, trade, migration, investment, technology, security, and environmental policies influence the development of poor nations. The site explains the methodology and the ranking of the 21 nations in 7 categories (in addition to an overall ranking): aid, trade, investment, migration, technology, security, and environment. The Foreign Policy magazine also has an article that accompanies the launch of the ranking.

The Emerging Market Global Players (EMGP) Project, a collaborative effort led by the Columbia Program on International Investments (CPII), ranks emerging market based multinational enterprises (MNEs) according to the level of foreign assets held. Currently 2007 rankings and analysis for largest Brazilian and Russian multinationals can be downloaded from the project's website.

The Doing Business Economy Rankings measures the ease of conducting business in a country based on ten factors that reflect how conducive the regulatory environment is to a business operation. All 175 countries can be ranked based on any specific factor, and the raw data is also available for download in Excel format.

Ducroire|Delcredere provides both "political risk" and "commercial risk" ratings for countries around the world. 239 countries are analyzed according to the type of commercial transaction and the nature of the risk.

A joint effort by the Economist Intelligence Unit and IBM Institute for Business Value, the study ranks 69 countries in terms of their conduciveness to Internet-based opportunities. The rankings are based on 6 criteria: connectivity and IT infrastructure, business environment, e-commerce adoption, legal environment, social environment, and supporting e-services. The latest rankings, past rankings as well as individual country commentaries are accessible on the site. Rankings last updated April 2007.

The Fitch Ratings Sovereigns Group provides credit research and opinion on more than 100 countries, and assigns ratings to the foreign and local currency debt of sovereign governments that account for virtually all of sovereign international debt issuance. A subscription is required for access to research and credit reports.

Published by Forbes Global, the annual tax guide presents a comprehensive glance at the corporate and personal tax rates in 60 of the world's major business spots. In addition the guide includes various tables to show what an employee nets as cash compensation after all applicable taxes.

The site provides comparative information on the potential and performance of 25 emerging economies as locations for global production and sourcing and is based on the results of a study conducted by Nova Research, a Swiss-based business economics consultancy.

The Happy Planet index ranks 178 countries based on the life satisfaction, life expectancy, and ecological footprint exhibited by each country. It is a simple measure designed to evaluate how efficiently countries use their resources in order to achieve fulfilling lives for their citizens. Data is accessible through an interactive global map or a list ranking countries in HPI order.

A joint effort of the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal, the index scores the relative freedom of 161 world economies based on 10 factors -- trade policy, fiscal burden of government, government intervention in the economy, monetary policy, capital flows and foreign investment, banking and finance, wages and prices, property rights, regulation, and black market. The complete publication is available online. Also listed under Research: Multi-Country.

Published by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), the annual report uses over 300 criteria in 4 main categories (economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency, and infrastructure) to rank the competitiveness of 61 countries. The site includes the overall rankings for the past 5 years, and a limited selection of tables and graphics for the individual criteria. The complete report is available for purchase.

The KOF Index of Globalization, provided by the KOF Swiss Economic Institute, measures globalization on economic, social, and political dimensions by looking at economic flows, restrictions, information flows, personal contact, and cultural proximity. Detailed data is available for download, and users can utilize the mapping and graphing tools that add an informative visual element to the data. Indexes for 122 countries are provided for every year dating back to 1970.

The annual survey by Mercer HR Consulting measures the cost of living in 143 cities across 6 continents and measures the comparative cost of over 200 items in each location, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment. It is the world’s most comprehensive cost of living survey and is used to help multinational companies and governments determine compensation allowances for their expatriate employees. The site provides the top 50 cities for free and the complete report is available for purchase.

The survey by Mercer HR Consulting measures the overall quality of life for 215 cities worldwide. Quality of life criteria include social, economic, environmental, personal safety, health, education, transport and other public services. The data can be used (among others) to assist multinational companies in determining international hardship allowances for their expatriate workers. The site provides the top 50 cities for free and the complete report is available for purchase.

The Country Risk Classification Method measures the country credit risk, i.e. the likelihood that a country will service its external debt, on a scale of 0-7 (0 having the least risk).

Available here are Country Risk Categorizations by the Swiss Export Risk Guarantee Agency. The first column on the table shows how ERG classifies countries based on the commercial risk present in the market, with 1 representing the smallest risk and 7 representing the highest risk.

The annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) ranks 180 countries by their perceived levels of corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys. Information is available in multiple languages and indices dating back to 1995 are on the site.

World Bank Governance Indicators provides ranking of 209 countries and territories on 6 dimensions of governance. The analysis is conducted bi-annually. The paper is based on the years from 1996 to 2004.

The report identifies and measures the underlying factors that contribute to high rates of economic growth in the medium term (a time horizon of about 5 years). These factors are quantified and then combined into an Index of Competitiveness. The website provides access only to an interactive map (link on right column) that provides the current state of world countries with various hotspots clickable for detailed explanation. The report is available for purchase.

This is an annual study by BusinessWeek of the top global companies ranked by market value. A search by country is also available to display the top companies specific to that country. It not only provides the market value of the companies, it also provides data to make relevant comparisons among them. Last updated in 2004.

The FT Global 500 provides a listing of world's largest companies ranked by market capitalization. The list can be viewed by ranking, by country, and by sector. There are also separate listings for top 500 companies in each region of the world. Subscription to FT.com is required.

A brand new study published by the well-known magazine ranks the world's largest companies as measured by a composite ranking of sales, profits, assets, and market value. U.S. companies dominate the list with over 1/3 of the entries. Note: Users may have to click "frame off" in the upper right-hand corner for the site to work correctly.

The Fortune magazine publishes an annual ranking of America's largest corporations (by revenues). The site has the full rankings, plus more detailed profile information about each country in the ranking, as well as industry level rankings. The list is also sortable by state, company name, and a number of other criteria.

The annual feature of the Fortune magazine (published every July) ranks the top 500 companies of the world according to revenues. The listings are provided in rank order as well as by industry. There is also a search function. For each company, there is basic contact information (address, phone, website), the CEO's name, and figures for revenues, profits, assets, stockholder's equity, and number of employees.

Using a large set of indicators, this annual study presents a ranking of major companies worldwide based on their performance conceived broadly. Some of the indicators include quality of management; quality of products and services; innovativeness; long-term investment value; financial soundness; ability to attract, develop, and retain talent; community responsibility; use of corporate assets; and global business acumen. A subscription to the magazine is required to access the report.

The world's top 100 global brands ranked by BusinessWeek and Interbrand are ranked against each other and within industry. Updated annually, the table allows easy comparison to the past year. The site also has feature articles that accompany the table. Additional analysis is available through Interbrand's site.

Technology Review, a magazine of innovation published by MIT, issues a yearly ranking of companies based on the total expenditures spent on research and development (R&D). The website provides 2 rankings of the top 15 companies, 1 based on overall research and development expenditures and another one based on an innovation index that combines R&D spending with percentage change from last year and percentage of sales. The site also provides a more detailed ranking of companies worldwide in 14 different sectors based upon R&D spending [PDF File].

UNCTAD ranks the largest non-financial TNCs by their foreign assets and presents the results in 3 separate lists: the 100 largest worldwide, the largest 50 from developing countries and the largest 25 from the economies in transition of Central and Eastern Europe. The same ranking, together with an analysis of the relevance of these TNCs in the world economy, is included in the various issues of the World Investment Report.

A wide variety of annually conducted ranking studies by Ad Age magazine. Includes rankings such as "World's Top 100 Advertising Organizations" and "Top 100 Global Marketers by Media Spending" in addition to many U.S. focused rankings. Most rankings are accessible for free, however some of the documents require a free registration. More rankings are also available on the Ad Age Global site, which requires a fee-based subscription.

Published annually in December by the Chain Store Age magazine, the list provides the top 100 global retailers ranked by sales and separately by market capitalization. The current as well as past rankings are downloadable as PDF files. Free registration is required and after registration the frame may have to be taken off to go directly to the ranking.

An annual study conducted by C&EN magazine, it ranks the top 50 companies worldwide in terms of total chemical sales. The study includes an analysis of the current year's events, the changes in rankings from the past year, and a detailed table that provides figures for sales, operating profits, capital spending, and R&D spending for all 50 companies. Current ranking is for 2007.

Common Sense Advisory annually ranks the top 20 translation companies. Through research reports, the site also attempts to help global companies benchmark, optimize, and to innovate industry best practices in translation, localization, internationalization, and globalization.

EBN, the newsweekly for procurement and business management in the electronics industry, publishes a variety of rankings on its site on somewhat of an irregular basis. Rankings are available for the top 100 electronics OEMs, top 100 industrial OEMs, top electronics distributors, top semiconductor companies, and top component suppliers.

Annual study that ranks contractor companies based on the construction revenue generated outside of each company's home country. A separate ranking is available for the Top 225 Global Contractors and includes the companies' revenues in their home countries as well as their international revenues.

An annual ranking of America's top 200 franchisers seeking international franchisees ranked by a combination of factors, including financial strength and stability, growth rate and size of the system, the number of years in business, length of time franchising, start-up costs, litigation, percentage of terminations, and whether the company provides financing. The site includes detailed information about each company featured in the ranking.

Conducted annually in June, Industry Week magazine ranks the world's largest manufacturing companies by sales revenue. The special section includes analysis of the ranking and archives. Access to the data is through a flexible search engine which allows the data to be ranked and/or limited by several criteria, including industry, country, company name, or sales revenue.

Published by the National Retail Federation's Stores magazine every year in January, this list provides the top 250 global retailers ranked by annual sales. Country of origin, store format, and countries of operation are also provided for each retailer. The 50+ page report for the latest year is downloadable in a unique NXTBook format, and also includes analysis and profiles of the world's best retail markets. Past rankings since 1999 are also available on the report. Last updated: January 2008

The List of Lists is a database of ranked listings of companies, people and resources freely available on the Internet, organized by subject headings.