Afghanistan | Dominican Republic | Lebanon | Sao Tome & Principe |
Albania | Ecuador | Lesotho | Saudi Arabia |
Algeria | Egypt | Liberia | Senegal |
Angola | El Salvador | Libya | Serbia |
Antigua & Barbuda | Equatorial Guinea | Lithuania | Seychelles |
Argentina | Eritrea | Luxembourg | Sierra Leone |
Armenia | Estonia | Macau | Singapore |
Australia | Ethiopia | Macedonia (FYR) | Slovak Republic |
Austria | Fiji | Madagascar | Slovenia |
Azerbaijan | Finland | Malawi | Somalia |
Bahamas | France | Malaysia | South Africa |
Bahrain | Gabon | Maldives | Spain |
Bangladesh | Gambia | Mali | Sri Lanka |
Barbados | Georgia | Malta | St Lucia |
Belarus | Germany | Mauritania | St Vincent & Grenadines |
Belgium | Ghana | Mauritius | Sudan |
Benin | Greece | Mexico | Suriname |
Bermuda | Grenada | Moldova | Swaziland |
Bhutan | Guatemala | Mongolia | Sweden |
Bolivia | Guinea | Montenegro | Switzerland |
Bosnia-Herzegovina | Guyana | Morocco | Syria |
Botswana | Haiti | Mozambique | Taiwan |
Brazil | Honduras | Myanmar | Tajikistan |
Brunei | Hong Kong | Namibia | Tanzania |
Bulgaria | Hungary | Nepal | Thailand |
Burkina Faso | Iceland | Netherlands | Togo |
Burundi | India | New Zealand | Trinidad & Tobago |
Cote d'Ivoire | Indonesia | Nicaragua | Tunisia |
Cambodia | Iran | Niger | Turkey |
Cameroon | Iraq | Nigeria | Turkmenistan |
Canada | Ireland | Norway | Uganda |
Central African Republic | Israel | Oman | Ukraine |
Chile | Italy | Pakistan | United Arab Emirates |
China | Jamaica | Panama | United Kingdom |
Colombia | Japan | Papua New Guinea | United States |
Congo | Jordan | Paraguay | Uruguay |
Costa Rica | Kazakhstan | Peru | Uzbekistan |
Croatia | Kenya | Philippines | Venezuela |
Cuba | Korea North | Poland | Vietnam |
Cyprus | Korea South | Portugal | Yemen |
Czech Republic | Kuwait | Qatar | Zambia |
Dem. Rep. Of the Congo | Kyrgyz Republic | Romania | Zimbabwe |
Denmark | Laos | Russia | |
Dominica | Latvia | Rwanda |
The ECR scores are scaled from 0 to 100 (100= no risk, 0= maximum risk). The scores are not designed to correspond to any other rating systems but many users do ask for a comparative guide, particularly to credit ratings. ECR tiers its countries in 5 Tiers. Below is the description of how countries in those tiers can be characterized with a rough guide to an equivalent credit rating band.
Economic Characteristics
The economy is sound, stable and well developed. None of the major indicators of economic health show cause for alarm, even though some of these may be moving on a downward trend. The major areas of economic infrastructure (banking sector, currency etc.) function well for the needs of the country. Near term factors such as economic growth and unemployment are typically not a cause for concern. Government finances are typically in a strong position and the system for financing government is strong and well developed.
Political Characteristics
The political system is stable, although there may be impending changes in the administrative government; these changes are not anticipated to change the nature of political governance in the country. The role of government as an owner/ employer/ regulator in relevant economic sectors is transparent and understood.
Structural Characteristics
The structural components of the country are strong and typically enjoying very high standards of physical infrastructure such as roads, airports and telecommunication networks. Education and healthcare levels are high and the demographics of the country are not seen as a major impediment to economic and political stability.
Access to Capital
The sovereign and its related entities enjoy very strong access to capital that is available in the market and private sector entities are not hindered in raising capital because of the country where they are headquartered.
Debt Indicators
The debt indicators of these countries are typically very robust although they may be moving in a negative direction.
Typically countries exhibit characteristics that are similar to Tier 1 but one of Economic, Political or Structural factors; will exhibit the below:
Economic Characteristics
The economy is sound and stable and usually well developed, although some of the major indicators of economic health show persistent negative characteristics. Major areas of economic infrastructure are robust but may not be functioning optimally for the needs of the country. Near term factors such as economic growth and unemployment often show signs of weakness. Towards the lower end of this tier countries may also exhibit signs of being over reliant on a narrow set of economic sectors such as natural resource extraction, financial services, public sector etc. Government finances may be in a materially weak state.
Political Characteristics
The political system is stable and but in some countries changes in the administration may cause significant changes in the nature of political governance/ direction of the country. Often in Tier 2 countries the role of government as an owner/ employer/ regulator in relevant economic sectors can lack transparency and may not be easily understood with state institutions sometimes lacking independence. Corruption can also be a drag on the political risk score.
Structural Characteristics
The structural components of the country can show weakness in one of its major aspects. Whilst enjoying very high standards of physical infrastructure such as roads, airports and telecommunication networks its education and healthcare levels or demographics may be poor and vice versa. These will feed into long term political risks and limit economic potential.
Access to Capital
For higher ranked Tier 2 countries the sovereign and its related entities enjoy good access to capital that is available in the market. Private sector entities are not overly hindered in raising capital because of the country where they are headquartered but they will often be limited in the amounts that they can raise at competitive rates.
Debt Indicators
The debt indicators of these countries are typically robust in the long term but may require fiscal adjustment in the short to medium term.
Typically countries exhibit characteristics that are similar to Tier 2 but one (towards the top of the tier), two or three (towards the bottom of the tier) of Economic, Political or Structural factors; will exhibit the below:
Economic Characteristics
The economy is typically stable though may be underdeveloped, major indicators of economic health show persistent negative characteristics. Major areas of economic infrastructure may be deficient and may not be functioning optimally for the needs of the country. Near term factors such as economic growth and unemployment can show signs of persistent weakness. Government finances may be in a materially weak state. This tier also often contains countries that are experiencing sharp economic contraction.
Political Characteristics
The political system is usually stable but its workings can be difficult to understand and changes in the administrative often cause significant changes in the nature of political governance/ direction of the country. Usually in Tier 3 countries the role of government as an owner/ employer/ regulator in relevant economic sectors lacks transparency with state institutions usually lacking independence from the administrative government. Corruption is almost certain to be a drag on political risk.
Structural Characteristics
The structural components of the country are often weak in one of its major aspects. Whilst enjoying very high standards of physical infrastructure such as roads, airports and telecommunication networks its education and healthcare levels or demographics may be poor and vice versa. These will feed into long term political risks and limit economic potential.
Access to Capital
For higher ranked Tier3 countries the sovereign and its related entities enjoy sufficient access to capital that is available in the market but will often have to pay significant spreads to achieve funding needs. For lower ranked Tier 3 countries access to significant amounts of capital; may be difficult. Private sector entities are hindered in raising capital because of the country where they are headquartered both in terms of amounts of capital and rates that they will need to pay.
Debt Indicators
The debt indicators of these countries are typically poor and countries often utilize capital controls that make indicators hard to equate with those of other countries.
Data for these countries is difficult to find and typically countries exhibit characteristics where at least two of Economic, Political or Structural factors; will exhibit the below:
Economic Characteristics
The economy is often unstable and underdeveloped, multiple major indicators of economic health show persistent negative characteristics. Major areas of economic infrastructure are deficient and will not be functioning adequately for the needs of the country. Near term factors such as economic growth and unemployment will show structural weakness. Government finances are usually in a materially weak state. Countries in this Tier have often experienced a credit event and are undergoing or have recently undergone debt rescheduling/ default programs. Many countries in Tier 4 may be highly reliant on remittances from overseas based national and foreign aid programs for a significant portion of their income
Political Characteristics
The political system is usually unstable, its workings can be difficult to understand and changes in the administrative government will often cause significant changes in the nature of political governance/ direction of the country. Countries in Tier 4 will have often undergone a major political change through non-electoral means in near term past. Usually in Tier 4 countries the role of government as an owner/ employer/ regulator in relevant economic sectors is highly opaque and the role of the state in the economy is often large. State institutions usually lack independence from the administrative government and rule of law is severely impaired. Corruption is almost certain to be a drag significant drag on political risk.
Structural Characteristics
The structural components of the country are often weak in at least two of its major aspects. The country will have poor standards of physical infrastructure such as roads, airports and telecommunication networks. Its education and healthcare levels will often be very poor. However the demographics may still be relatively strong although these countries often suffer from a "Brain Drain" effect.
Access to Capital
For Tier 4 countries accessing the capital markets is difficult. It is usually only open to the sovereign and its related entities but at a significant price. Private sector entities are severely hindered in raising capital because of the country where they are headquartered.
Debt Indicators
The debt indicators of these countries are typically poor and countries often utilize capital controls that make indicators hard to equate with those of other countries.
Data for these countries and territories is very difficult to find and collate. Many countries in Tier 5 may be highly reliant on remittances from overseas based national and foreign aid programs for a significant portion of their income. Countries exhibit characteristics where at least two of Economic, Political or Structural factors; will exhibit the below:
Economic Characteristics
The economy is highly underdeveloped and unstable, multiple major indicators of economic health show persistent negative characteristics. Major areas of economic infrastructure are deficient and will not be functioning adequately for the needs of the country. Near term factors such as economic growth and unemployment will show structural weakness. Government finances are usually in a materially weak state. Countries in this Tier have often experienced a credit event and are undergoing or have recently undergone debt rescheduling/ default programs. Tier 5 countries will often have high reliance on remittances and foreign aid programs for income.
Political Characteristics
The political system is usually unstable, its workings can be difficult to understand and changes in the administrative government will often cause significant changes in the nature of political governance/ direction of the country. Countries in Tier 5 will have often undergone a major political change through non-electoral means in the near term past. In Tier 5 countries the role of government as an owner/ employer/ regulator in relevant economic sectors is highly opaque and the role of the state in the economy is often large. State institutions usually lack independence from the administrative government and rule of law is severely impaired. Corruption is almost certain to be a significant drag on political risk.
Structural Characteristics
The structural components of the country are often weak in all major aspects. The country will have poor standards of physical infrastructure such as roads, airports and telecommunication networks. Its education and healthcare levels will often be very poor. However the demographics may still be relatively strong although these countries often suffer from a "Brain Drain" effect.
Access to Capital
For Tier 4 countries accessing the capital markets is difficult. In most cases the country cannot access the capital markets.
Debt Indicators
The debt indicators of these countries are typically very poor if there is any data at all. Many countries will have no track record of borrowing from overseas commercial sources.
The ECR score is comprised of the following components:
Economic Factors | 35% |
Bank Stability | 7.00% |
Economic- GNP Outlook | 7.00% |
Employment/ Unemployment | 7.00% |
Government Finances | 7.00% |
Monetary/ Currency Stability | 7.00% |
Political Factors | 35% |
Corruption | 5.83% |
Govt. Non-payment/ Non repatriation | 5.83% |
Government Stability | 5.83% |
Information Access/ Transparency | 5.83% |
Institutional Risk | 5.83% |
Regulatory Policy & Environment | 5.83% |
Structural Factors | 10% |
Demographics | 2.50% |
Hard Infrastructure | 2.50% |
Soft Infrastructure | 2.50% |
Labour Market/ Industrial Relations | 2.50% |
OTHER SCORES | |
Access to Capital | 10% |
Debt Indicators | 10% |
All qualitative expert scores are updated quarterly. In the quantitative section, access to capital markets scores are updated quarterly, and debt indicators scores are updated annually
ECR experts work for a variety of institutions in both the commercial and non-commercial sectors. Most ECR experts work in one of the following areas:
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ECR Experts are analysts recruited by Euromoney to score countries for which they have expertise. Economists and policy analysts from the commercial, academic and non-governmental sectors can participate in the survey. Euromoney aims for a geographically diverse group of experts for any given country.
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