The Firm Adoption of Technology (FAT) Survey. Measuring the adoption and use of technologies in developing countries.

Technology sits at the heart of economic growth. From historical accounts to endogenous growth models, it is consistently identified as a key driver of productivity and structural transformation. While the time required to access new technologies has fallen worldwide, today’s cross-country differences arise primarily from how intensively firms use these technologies. Measuring technology use—and understanding the drivers of and barriers to adoption—is therefore critical to designing effective development policies.

To address this need, the World Bank’s Trade, Competition, and Business (TCB) Global Department is implementing a series of nationally representative Firm Adoption of Technology (FAT) surveys (Cirera, Comin, and Cruz, 2026). The FAT survey is the most comprehensive cross-country survey of technology adoption in developing economies. It captures detailed information on the adoption and use of more than 300 technologies across over 60 general and sector-specific business functions. The target population is formal firms with five or more employees.

Sampling frames are constructed from the most recent and comprehensive business registers or economic censuses available from national statistical agencies or administrative business registries. Samples are stratified by sector, firm size, and region. Sectors typically include:

• Agriculture (crops and livestock)
• Manufacturing (e.g., food processing; wearing apparel; leather and footwear; automotive; pharmaceuticals; bricks; cement; iron and steel; other manufacturing)
• Services (e.g., wholesale and retail; financial services; land transportation; accommodation; health services; other services)

Size strata include small (5–19 employees), medium (20–99), and large (100+). Sector, size, and regional stratification vary by country. Surveys are administered through face-to-face interviews with owners or managers; during COVID-19, some were conducted by phone.

Country datasets and full survey documentation are accessible through the World Bank’s Microdata Library.

Users of the database please cite its source as:
Cirera, X., Comin, D., & Cruz, M. (Forthcoming). Technology Sophistication Across Establishments. The Quarterly Journal of Economics.