2009 Microscope Index launched by the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF), International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is now global, ranking 55 countries worldwide.

The Microscope Index was developed in 2007 by the Economist Intelligence Unit, the business information arm of The Economist Group, with support from the MIF and CAF. After two years, the IFC, with support from the Dutch government, has joined the team, giving the index an extra push to make it truly global.

The index consists of a scorecard weighing 13 indicators grouped into three categories: regulatory framework, investment climate, and institutional development. The countries were selected based on the importance of their existing microfinance sectors or their potential for development. However, since the global index builds on earlier studies conducted exclusively in Latin America and the Caribbean, the region is somewhat over-represented, with 21 of the total 55 countries. The index includes data from 12 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, seven in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, seven in East Asia, five in South Asia, and three in the Middle East/North Africa.

2009 Microscope Index Full Report

English (PDF) | Spanish (PDF) | Data Model (Excel)







* Table from 2009 Microscope Index

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