The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is an independent business within The Economist Group.^[1]

Through research and analysis, EIU offers forecasting and advisory services to its clients. It provides country, industry and management analysis worldwide and incorporates the former Business International Corporation, a U.K. company acquired by the parent organization in 1986. It is particularly well known for its monthly country reports, five-year country economic forecasts, country risk service reports, and industry reports. The company also specialises in tailored research for companies that require analysis for particular markets or business sectors. 2006 marked the 60th anniversary of the Economist Intelligence Unit's inception.

The Economist Intelligence Unit also produces regular reports on the "liveability", and cost of living, of the world's major cities, which receive wide coverage in international news sources. The Economist Intelligence Unit's Quality-of-Life Index is another noted report.

Its current Editorial Director & Chief Economist is Robin Bew.

Economist Corporate Network[link]

Economist Corporate Network is the Economist Group’s business intelligence, advisory, briefing and networking service for senior executives. Its members benefit directly from insight on economic and business trends in emerging markets and from access to a wide network of peers and analysts.

CHAMPS[link]

In November 2010 the Economist Intelligence Unit released the Access China White Paper profiling the economies of the top 20 emerging cities in China. The report coined the acronym CHAMPS (Chongqing, Hefei, Anshan, Maanshan, Pingdingshan and Shenyang).^[2]

Democracy Index[link]

In 2006 (with updates in 2008, 2010 and 2011) the Economist Intelligence Unit released The Democracy Index, an index compiled by examining the state of democracy in 167 countries, attempting to quantify this with an Economist Intelligence Unit Index of Democracy which focused on five general categories: electoral process and pluralism, civil liberties, functioning of government, political participation and political culture.^[3]

Government Broadband Index (gBBi)[link]

In January 2011, the Unit released the Government Broadband Index (gBBi) that assesses countries on the basis of government planning, as opposed to current broadband capability. With ambitious targets for both the speed and coverage of next-generation broadband networks, the developed countries of South-east Asia scored highest. According to the index Greece is the worst-performing country measured, owing to its relatively low coverage target and drawn-out deployment schedule. Greece also suffers due to the considerable size of its public-funding commitment as a percentage of overall government budget revenues, and because its plan does little to foment competition in the high-speed broadband market.^[4]

See also[link]

• E-readiness rankings
• Quality-of-Life Index
• Democracy Index
• CHAMPS

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Business Research website
• CHAMPS White Paper
• Democracy Index: Democracy under stress
• Full speed ahead: The government broadband index Q1 2011