Facebook Global State of Small Business Survey 2021
Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Egypt, France, Germany, Ghana, India, Indon, 2021
Get MicrodataIdentification
WLD_2021_GSOBS_v01_M
Facebook Global State of Small Business Survey 2021
| Name | Country code |
|---|---|
| Argentina | ARG |
| Australia | AUS |
| Belgium | BEL |
| Brazil | BRA |
| Canada | CAN |
| Colombia | COL |
| Egypt | EGY |
| France | FRA |
| Germany | DEU |
| Ghana | GHA |
| India | IND |
| Indonesia | IDN |
| Ireland | IRL |
| Israel | ISR |
| Italy | ITA |
| Kenya | KEN |
| Mexico | MEX |
| Nigeria | NGA |
| Pakistan | PAK |
| Philippines | PHL |
| Poland | POL |
| Portugal | PRT |
| Russian Federation | RUS |
| South Africa | ZAF |
| Spain | ESP |
| Taiwan, China | TWN |
| Turkey | TUR |
| United Kingdom | GBR |
| United States | USA |
| Vietnam | VNM |
Enterprise Survey [en/oth]
To gain a deeper understanding of the perspectives, challenges, and opportunities for small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) around the world during the COVID-19 pandemic, Facebook and partners collaborate to collect and share timely information with the broader community. The State of Small Business (SoSB) Survey surveys SMBs, employees, and consumers from approximately 30 countries across the globe. This combination of survey respondents allows us to evaluate how the impacts on SMBs, their employees, and their clients have developed throughout 2021.
Sample survey data [ssd]
The study describes small and medium-sized business owners, their employees and consumers.
Version
2021-11-30
Scope
Questions cover a range of topics depending on the survey wave such as business characteristics, challenges, financials and strategy in addition to custom modules related to regulation, gender inequity, access to finance, digital technologies, reduction in revenues, business closures, reduction of employees and challenges/needs of the business.
Coverage
Argentina
Australia
Belgium
Brazil
Canada
Colombia
Egypt
France
Germany
Ghana
India
Indonesia
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Kenya
Mexico
Nigeria
Pakistan
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Russian Federation (the)
South Africa
Spain
Taiwan
Turkey
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
United States of America (the)
Vietnam
The survey uses a random sample of SMB leaders with Facebook Page administrator privileges and of the general population of Facebook users. Therefore, the sample covered in the survey is representative of SMB leaders surveyable through Facebook at the country level.
Producers and sponsors
| Name |
|---|
| World Bank |
| OECD |
| Name |
|---|
| World Bank |
| OECD |
Sampling
The survey reaches a random sample of SMB leaders with Facebook Page administrator privileges and of the general population of Facebook users. A random sample of firms, representing the target population in each country, is selected to respond to the survey. To achieve better representation of the broader small business population on Facebook, Facebook also weights our results based on known characteristics of the Facebook Page admin population.
Response rates to online surveys vary widely depending on a number of factors including survey length, region, strength of the relationship with invitees, incentive mechanisms, invite copy, interest of respondents in the topic and survey design. To achieve better representation of the broader small business population on Facebook, Facebookwe also weights our results based on known characteristics of the Facebook Page admin population.
Note: Response rates are calculated as the number of respondents who completed the survey divided by the total number of SMBs invited.
Survey instrument
Questions cover a range of topics depending on the survey wave such as business characteristics, challenges, financials and strategy in addition to custom modules related to regulation, access to finance, digital technologies, reduction in revenues, business closures, reduction of employees and challenges/needs of the business
Data collection
| Start | End |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 2021 |
| Start date | End date |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 2021 |
The questionnaire was pretested by the target audience, as well as experts from the area of research interest. Additionally, steps were taken to translate the survey in order to reduce sensitivities to cultural response bias:
- Respondents were given the option to respond to the survey in any of fifteen languages native to the countries in which it was conducted.
- Translations were done only by native speakers, with two rounds of additional online checks in the context of the survey environment.
- Translators were provided with context material for this survey (e.g., the Facebook for Business website) in order to understand the context of the survey. They were also instructed to take the English survey at least two times before starting with the translations.
- Translations were discussed in a group in order to ensure a common understanding of questions and items.
- The tone (formal vs. informal) of the survey was based on cultural conventions, e.g., Facebook usually uses an informal tone, while in cultures such as the Japanese this is very uncommon and thus a formal tone was used there.
Data appraisal
Any survey data is prone to several forms of error and biases that need to be considered to understand how closely the results reflect the intended population. In particular, the following components of the total survey error are noteworthy: Sampling error is a natural characteristic of every survey based on samples and reflects the uncertainty in any survey result that is attributable to the fact that not the whole population is surveyed.Other factors beyond sampling error that contribute to such potential differences are frame or coverage error (sampling frame of Page owners does not include all relevant businesses but also may include individuals that don’t represent businesses), and nonresponse error.
Note that the sample is meant to reflect the population of businesses on Facebook, not the population of small businesses in general. This group of digitized SMEs is itself a community worthy of deeper consideration and of considerable policy interest. However, care should be taken when extrapolating to the population of SMEs in general. Moreover, future work should evaluate the external validity of the sample. Particularly, respondents should be compared to the broader population of SMEs on Facebook, and the economy as a whole.
Data Access
| Name | URL |
|---|---|
| Facebook Data For Good | https://dataforgood.facebook.com/dfg/docs/2021-global-state-of-small-business |
| Is signing of a confidentiality declaration required? |
|---|
| yes |
Aggregate data is available to the public on the Humanitarian Data Exchange. Microdata is also available to nonprofits and universities through Facebook’s Data for Good program. To review the Global State of Small Business reports or to request access to the microdata, please visit Facebook’s Data for Good website.
Metadata production
DDI_WLD_2021_GSOBS_v01_M_WB
| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Development Data Group | World Bank | Documentation of the study |
2021-11-30
Metadata version
Version 01