World Bank Enterprise Surveys

Man walks by a sign for The World Bank Group at their global headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Problem

The World Bank is expanding the reach of its global surveys of over 160 economies.

World Bank Enterprise Surveys (WBES) are nationally representative, firm-level surveys with top managers and owners of businesses in over 160 economies that provide insight into many business environment topics such as performance, access to finance, and infrastructure, among others. The World Bank has been conducting the Enterprise Survey for over 30 years. As part of the bank’s Business Ready (B-Ready) initiative, the Enterprise Surveys will now be conducted every three years in each country.

Solution

NORC is conducting more than 5,000 interviews with businesses around the world.

In 2023, The World Bank partnered with NORC to conduct a cognitive audit of the Enterprise Survey questionnaire, including a question-by-question evaluation of the instrument, observing recordings of live interviews, and conducting an experiment to test a multi-mode approach to completing the survey. The result is a streamlined questionnaire, released for the 2025 round of surveys, which will reduce respondent burden and improve data quality.

In 2024, NORC expanded its partnership with the World Bank to conduct the Enterprise Survey in Ecuador, Uruguay, and the United States. The survey was carried out in person or via videoconference in various languages, with interviews lasting around 60 minutes. The 2025 WBES is currently in the field and NORC is conducting interviews in Chile, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.

Result

Insights will inform potential private sector development.

The results of these surveys will be used to develop policies within each country and to promote the study of private sector development at the national and global level. The data will also be used for Business Ready, the World Bank’s new flagship report benchmarking the business environment and investment climate in most economies worldwide. The report assesses the regulatory framework and public services directed at firms, and the efficiency with which regulatory framework and public services are combined in practice. In addition, survey participants will receive a summary of the main results, with benchmarks against regional and income groups.

NORC’s collaborations with the World Bank include surveys in:

Ecuador: ⁠Ecuador was last covered in the World Bank Enterprise Survey in 2017. In 2024, NORC partnered with local firms Clima Social and Cedatos to conduct 360 interviews with a nationally representative sample of firms in Ecuador.
Uruguay:⁠ Uruguay was last covered in the World Bank Enterprise Survey in 2017. In 2024, NORC partnered with local firm Equipos Consultores to conduct 360 interviews with a nationally representative sample of firms in Uruguay.
The United States: For the first time, the United States has been included in this international study beginning in 2024. NORC partnered with Kapa Research to conduct 3,030 interviews with a nationally representative sample of firms in the United States. Contact us: WBESTSSO@norc.org
The Netherlands and Luxembourg:⁠ The Netherlands and Luxemburg were last covered in the World Bank Enterprise Survey in 2020. In 2025, NORC partnered with local firm Global Data Collection Company (GDCC) to conduct 800 interviews in the Netherlands and 240 interviews in Luxembourg with nationally representative samples. In addition, NORC and GDCC will attempt to conduct interviews with the firms who participated in 2020 to generate comparisons over time (808 firms in the Netherlands and 170 Luxembourg).
Chile: Chile was last covered in the World Bank Enterprise Survey in 2010. In 2025, NORC partnered with local firm Datavoz to conduct 1,000 interviews with a nationally representative sample of firms in Chile. In addition, NORC and Datavoz will attempt to conduct interviews with the 1,033 firms who participated in 2010 to generate comparisons over time.