The IFC has released a new collection of country level SME data. The data covers 76 countries and presents information regarding the size and contribution of the SME sector and how the sector is broken down into micro, small and medium firms. The effort to bring this data together should be commended, especially since every country and organization appears to be using a different SME definition. I was shocked to see that so little information is readily available, very few countries having post-2002 data.
We need a better way of accounting for and tracking SME development. In particular, many questions remain on how best to treat the informal sector – let alone approximate its size. The OECD has been leading the discussion on SME measurement harmonization; see this summary paper which was presented at their 2004 SME Conference in Istanbul.
For some SME data coming out of the World Bank see this paper and database. Links to more SME data sources can be found on the right-hand-side box on this page. Finally, to learn more about the IFC’s SME activities go here.
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