Asia Data Sourcing

We source Asia Industry Data from a combination of global and local statistical authorities. All data is classified under the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities, Revision 4 (ISIC Rev. 4).

International organizations collect and standardize data from local statistical offices. IBISWorld primarily sources data from:

These organizations collect data through inter-agency agreements and the coordinated adoption of international standards. As a result, global sources do not always strictly adhere to local sources and the methodology is not publicly available.

Local national statistical agencies are the primary source of country-level data. These agencies publish data under their respective national SIC systems, which IBISWorld maps to ISIC Rev. 4 through official or proprietary concordances:

IBISWorld uses concordances from each national statistics office to map local industry classification systems to ISIC Rev. 4. Where official concordances are available from the relevant national statistical agency, these are used directly. Otherwise, IBISWorld develops proprietary concordances.

Our data scientists, analysts, and engineers extract, collate and standardize raw source data before loading it into our structured databases. Quality checks and testing are conducted to ensure consistency and accuracy. After generating a structured database, all data is mapped to ISIC Rev. 4 to enable consistent international comparison. Next, sources are prioritized based on coverage and definitional alignment with IBISWorld’s Key Statistics (e.g. when two sources have a similar variable, the one that aligns with IBISWorld’s statistical definitions is used).

Once a single data set is generated, all currencies are converted to USD using average annual exchange rates sourced from the Bank of International Settlements (BIS).

IBISWorld applies a multi-stage, hybrid imputation and forecasting framework that integrates analyst-driven sector research with statistical and machine learning models. Source data from reporting agencies is often incomplete due to various local limitations. As a result, imputation, the process of calculating estimates for the gaps in coverage, is used for each series.

IBISWorld’s Research Team develops comprehensive ISIC sector-level analyses and forecasts. These analyst-driven estimates serve as anchor points for the broader data estimation process.

Sub-sector data is produced through the following steps:

IBISWorld’s forecasts are built using a structured, step-by-step process designed to produce reliable and consistent results. Estimates are first calculated at the most detailed level (by individual country and sub-sector) and then checked to make sure they all add correctly at higher levels, such as the broader sector or regional totals.

The forecasting approach is deliberately cautious, drawing primarily on historical trends and the relationship between each industry and the wider economy. Because this dataset is focused on long-term annual patterns, the forecasts do not attempt to predict sudden or unexpected shifts in an industry's trajectory. As a result, these figures are best interpreted as a stable baseline- a reference point from which different "what if" scenarios can be explored and compared. Methods implemented to project forecasts include the use of macroeconomic and other external drivers, and time-series methods through Machine-Learning algorithms.

All data in the Asia Industry Data collection is presented in US Dollars (USD). Currency conversion is performed using annual average exchange rates (from the Bank of International Settlements (BIS)) for each local currency against USD. Data is not adjusted for Purchasing Power Parity (PPP).

Because data is converted using nominal exchange rates, rather than PPP-adjusted rates, year-on-year changes in USD-denominated values will reflect both real economic changes and currency movements. Users should interpret trends and annual growth rates with this in mind, particularly for economies with significant exchange rate volatility.

China data leverages proprietary research from IBISWorld’s Beijing-based research team. This data is collected and structured using the Chinese SIC standard (the national classification system used by the China National Bureau of Statistics). Where this data is available, it is used directly in the estimation process.

Because IBISWorld’s China data is sourced using the Chinese SIC standard rather than ISIC Rev. 4 directly, mapping between the two systems is not a perfect one-to-one match. There may be discrepancies between values reported in Asia Industry Data and those in IBISWorld’s dedicated China Industry Reports. Users comparing figures across these two product lines should be aware of this potential for divergence.

The final sector data for Asia Industry Data was produced in January 2026. As such, tariff changes known at the time of publication are incorporated into the data. As an annual, forward-looking dataset, it prioritizes structural consistency and long-term comparability over real-time responsiveness to current events. This approach ensures stable, reliable benchmarks for strategic planning and trend analysis. As a result, the overall measured impact of recent tariff adjustments on historical series is limited.

Although many official statistical classification systems in the Asia Region are “ISIC-based”, this is only strictly true at the sector level. As industries become more granular in their hierarchies, local agencies tailor systems to better measure their domestic economies. So, while there are cases where a local SIC code may be semantically similar to an ISIC-defined report, the definition and activity inclusions may be very different. Local definitional variations can be particularly pronounced in industries that are highly concentrated or localized clusters with distorted definitions. Additionally, as part of the standardization process, statistics with slight measurement deviations are aligned into single statistics for IBISWorld’s standard reporting framework.