LibGuides: Company Research Guide: PESTLE Analysis

What is a PESTLE Analysis?

PESTLE (sometimes PEST) is a framework for analyzing the external macro environment of a business or industry, usually specific to a particular country. PESTLE stands for:

P – Political
E – Economic
S – Social
T – Technological
L – Legal
E – Environmental

Use the resources listed on this page for conducting a PESTLE analysis, including:

analyzing a country's economic, business, political, legal and security risk
investigating the ease of doing business
assessing commercial opportunities and challenges
examining social, cultural and environmental issues

IHS Connect database

IHS Connect This link opens in a new window
IHS Connect provides continuously updated analysis of global business conditions and economic information. Proprietary reports and ratings assess country, banking and sovereign risk. Interactive maps, charts, and graphs present data on specific geographies. Users can build, save, export, and share status and time series reports and charts from a variety of datasets. Use MyConnect to set email notifications, set custom search alerts, and save content for later viewing. First time users should visit the IHS Connect Registration Guide to register for an account using a Bentley email address.

Recommended reports:

COUNTRY REPORTS
Search tip: Hover over the [Geography] link and type in the name of a country. Make your selection, and on the country's landing page:

Explore the headlines, special reports, data and analysis presented on the Country Risk and Economics tabs.
Click the link in the green box to access the Full Country/Territory Report Dashboard for the selected country. The dashboard contains comprehensive political, economic, legal, tax operational and security analysis and risk ratings. You'll also find links to downloadable reports and economic data.

Euromonitor Passport database

Euromonitor Passport GMID This link opens in a new window
The Euromonitor Passport Global Market Information Database provides business intelligence on selected Industries, Countries & Consumers, Companies, and Geographies, and comprehensive tools for analysis across datasets. Each category includes in-depth reports, analyst comments, statistics and external sources. New reports, analyses and comments are added daily, while industry reports are updated annually. Historical and forecasted date coverage varies by country, within a broad range of 1977 to five-year projections. Users will have to fill out a short registration form the first time they access Euromonitor. Faculty & Staff members please list your department under "Course".

Recommended reports:

PEST ANALYSIS
Search tip: In the search box, type Pest Analysis [name of country]. For example: PEST Analysis USA

COUNTRY PROFILES
Search tip: In the search box, type [name of country] country profile. For example: Australia Country Profile

BUSINESS DYNAMICS REPORTS
Search tip: Click on [Economies] in the top navigation bar, then select [Business Dynamics]. In the [Explore Analysis] section, select Business Dynamics from the Category list, then choose a country from the Geography list, then select Country Report from the Analysis Type list.

Business Source Complete database

Business Source Complete (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Business Source Complete provides coverage in business disciplines including marketing, management, management information systems, production and operations management, accounting, finance and economics. It includes full text for more than 3600 journals, including 1900 peer-reviewed titles. Also included are full-text case studies, company and industry profiles, country reports, executive and analyst interviews, market research reports and SWOT analyses.

Search tip: Look for the Browse menu on the right side of the page and select [Country Reports]. Enter the name of a country in the All Countries search box. The results list may include:

Country Reviews from CountryWatch (which include social and environmental overviews)
Country Profiles from MarketLine (which include In-depth PESTLE Insights)
Country Risk Reports from Business Monitor International (BMI).

Statista database

Statista This link opens in a new window
Statista is a portal for quantitative data, statistics and related information. Use the search box to find information of interest, or choose from dropdowns providing access to information about industries, digital markets, consumer markets, and topics such as media, business, and society. Statistics, charts and/or graphs may be downloaded in the following formats: Excel, PNG Graphics, PowerPoint and PDF.

Search tip: Click on [Reports] in the top navigation bar, then select [Country Reports]. Search for a country or region. Results will usually include Country Reports and Dossiers.

Doing Business In... Guides

These resources provide information on the ease of doing business and commercial opportunities, regulations, and business customs in a country:

Country Commercial Guides This link opens in a new window
Country Commercial Guides (also referred to as "doing business" guides) are published annually by U.S. embassies with the assistance of several U.S. government agencies. These reports present a comprehensive look at countries' commercial environments, using economic, political and market analysis. Free resource.

PwC: WorldWide Tax Summaries
From PwC: "this useful online tool will help you make informed decisions with the most up-to-date and relevant details about tax systems in more than 150 territories worldwide." Free resource.

Deloitte International Tax Guides This link opens in a new window
Deloitte provides a brief digest of the domestic and treaty tax rates of more than 130 jurisdictions. Each International Tax Guide provides an overview of the general investment landscape, corporate taxation and compliance, individual taxation and compliance, withholding rates, anti-avoidance rules, value-added tax (VAT; where applicable) and other types of taxes, and tax treaty information. Includes Quick Links to current news and other relevant resources. Free resource.

Country Profiles

Need some more background information? These are good resources for country profiles.

Europa World This link opens in a new window
Europa World provides profiles of over 250 countries and territories, including extensive sections on political history, foreign affairs, and economic affairs. Directory information on international and country-specific organizations, including government agencies, is also included.
World Factbook This link opens in a new window
Produced by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the World Factbook provides information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 267 world entities. Free resource.
OECD Country Profiles This link opens in a new window
OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) publishes economic surveys, comparative statistics, regular outlooks and annual overviews for its 34 member countries and some major additional countries. Free resource.
Global Issues in Context This link opens in a new window
Global Issues in Context integrates news, global viewpoints, reference materials, country information, primary source documents, videos, statistics and more to explain the historical and contemporary conditions necessary to understand global issues, conflicts and events.