How to Research Foreign Market Size — A Complete Guide to Free International Statistics Databases

When researching foreign market size, using free international statistics databases is the most efficient approach. By choosing the right database among UNIDO, World Bank, UN Comtrade, and four others, you can grasp the full picture of a market before purchasing expensive paid reports.

"We're considering overseas expansion, but first we need to understand the market size in numbers."
"We want data to decide whether it's worth buying a paid market research report."

For situations like these, the free statistics databases published by the United Nations and World Bank are invaluable. In this article, I explain how to use the seven databases that I rely on daily in my overseas market research work.

Choose the Right Database for Your Purpose

UNIDO for manufacturing industry size, World Bank for macroeconomic data, UN Comtrade for trade flows. The best database depends on what you want to find out.

Start by getting the big picture. The table below shows the basic framework for choosing the right database.

UNIDO INDSTAT Is the Most Accurate Database for Comparing Industry Size

UNIDO's INDSTAT uses ISIC (International Standard Industrial Classification) codes to break down manufacturing data for 153 countries into 24 industries. It is the single most important database for industrial research.

Available Data

Coverage spans 153 countries, from 1981 to 2023. Free and no registration required.

ISIC Classification Examples (Food-Related)

Industries are specified by 2-digit ISIC codes. Further breakdown to 4-digit level is also possible.

ISIC 10 (Food products) breaks down further at the 4-digit level: 1010 for meat processing, 1020 for fish processing, 1040 for vegetable and animal oils, 1050 for dairy products, and 1061 for grain mill products.

How to Access

For web-based access, go to https://stat.unido.org/data/table and select the country, ISIC code, and indicator. CSV download is also supported.

An API is available, but it retrieves data one country at a time. For multi-country comparisons, the web interface or bulk download (https://stat.unido.org/data/download) is more efficient.

World Bank API Gives You a Macro Comparison in 5 Minutes

World Bank Open Data has an exceptionally user-friendly API that retrieves manufacturing value added and GDP for multiple countries in a single request. It is ideal for getting a quick overview.

Commonly Used Indicator Codes

API Call Example

To retrieve manufacturing value added for five ASEAN countries, simply paste the following URL into your browser:

```
https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/THA;VNM;IDN;PHL;MYS/indicator/NV.IND.MANF.CD?format=json&date=2020:2024
```

Separate country codes with semicolons to get data for multiple countries in one call. Use `format=json` for JSON output and `date=2020:2024` to specify the year range.

API documentation is available at https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/articles/889392.

World Bank vs. UNIDO: When to Use Which

Use UNIDO for detailed industry-level analysis. Use World Bank for quick country-level macro comparisons.

UN Comtrade Shows "What Does This Country Export?"

The UN's international trade statistics database, UN Comtrade, lets you retrieve import/export values by specifying products using HS codes (customs classification). It is for investigating trade structure, not domestic industry size.

While UNIDO shows "the size of domestic manufacturing," UN Comtrade shows "what and how much a country is importing and exporting." These serve different purposes, so do not confuse them.

Product Classification

• HS codes (6 digits) allow fine-grained product specification. For example, HS 1902 covers "pasta and noodles"
• SITC codes are suited for broader category comparisons

HS Code Examples (Food-Related)

The web interface is at https://comtradeplus.un.org/. An API is also available (the free version has hourly request limits). For Python users, install the official library with `pip install comtradeapicall`.

FAOSTAT Covers the Agricultural Side, UNIDO Covers the Manufacturing Side

FAOSTAT, from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), contains agricultural output, food supply, and agri-trade data for 245 countries. Use it when you need data on agriculture and raw materials.

In a nutshell: if you want rice production volume, use FAOSTAT. If you want instant noodle manufacturing value, use UNIDO.

The web interface is at https://www.fao.org/faostat/. CSV download is supported.

(Note: In our overseas market research, we combine FAOSTAT and UNIDO when investigating food manufacturers in ASEAN countries. By examining both the raw material supply side and the manufacturing processing side, we can understand the structure of a country's food industry.)

ASEAN Stats and ADB Key Indicators Are Asia-Focused Statistics Portals

ASEAN Stats, operated by the ASEAN Secretariat, enables side-by-side comparison of all 10 member states. ADB Key Indicators from the Asian Development Bank covers 49 economies across Asia-Pacific.

ASEAN Stats

• URL: https://data.aseanstats.org/
• Content: Trade, investment, economic indicators, population
• Coverage: 10 ASEAN member states

Because it specializes in intra-ASEAN comparisons, it offers ASEAN-specific indicators (intra-regional trade ratios, FDI inflows, etc.) that are more detailed than what World Bank provides.

ADB Key Indicators

• URL: https://kidb.adb.org/
• Content: GDP, industrial composition, trade, investment, population, education
• Coverage: 49 economies across Asia-Pacific

Because it focuses on Asia, it also has strong coverage of South Asian countries such as India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.

UNdata Is Your Starting Point When You Don't Know Which Database to Use

UNdata (https://data.un.org/) is a portal site that lets you search across multiple UN databases including UNIDO, Comtrade, and SNA (System of National Accounts).

If you are not yet familiar with the specific databases, start with UNdata. It will show you which database contains the data you need. Once you become comfortable, accessing each database directly is more efficient.

Practical Workflow — Assess ASEAN Food Manufacturing Market Size in 30 Minutes

The following four steps allow you to assess the food manufacturing industry size in ASEAN countries using only free data. I show actual data retrieved from World Bank API and UNIDO INDSTAT.

Step 1 — Macro Comparison with World Bank API (5 min)

Retrieve manufacturing value added and food sector ratios.

This table is calculated from World Bank API indicator codes `NV.IND.MANF.CD` and `NV.MNF.FBTO.ZS.UN`.

Step 2 — Detailed Industry Breakdown with UNIDO INDSTAT (10 min)

Specify ISIC 10 (Food products) to retrieve value added, number of establishments, and employment. This lets you break down the "food" category that World Bank groups together into 4-digit sub-sectors.

Step 3 — Understand Trade Structure with UN Comtrade (15 min)

Search food-related HS codes (02-21) for import/export values. This reveals whether a country is a net exporter or importer of food products, which informs your market entry strategy (export hub vs. local consumption).

Step 4 — Proceed to Company-Level Research (Separate)

After grasping the market overview through macro data, move on to company-level research using stock exchange data, corporate IR filings, and government business registration databases in each country.

(Note: Our firm has conducted market research across 80+ countries. We also provide consultation on company-level research. See the end of this article for details.)

Summary — Choosing the Right Database Determines Your Research Efficiency

When investigating a foreign market, the first thing to do is clarify "what exactly you want to know" and select the database that matches.

Before purchasing paid market research reports ($3,000-$15,000 per report), I recommend using these free databases to get an overview of the market. Once you have the big picture, you can make better decisions about which paid reports are worth the investment.

If you would like to learn more about sizing overseas markets or building company lists for specific countries and industries:

Our firm conducts market research and company research across 80+ countries, with a focus on ASEAN, China, and India. We handle requests such as "I need to know the major players in the XX industry in this country" and "I need data to support market size estimates."

For service details and inquiries:
https://taitonmai.co.jp