ESOMAR's annual Global Research Software report is the only global analysis on the size and characteristics of the research software sector: the largest one within the insights industry. For a detailed look at the complementary market research sector, please see ESOMAR’s Global Market Research 2024 report.

What can I find inside?

The Global Research Software 2024 report shows nuanced global growth of the industry after the high inflation and high interest rates observed through 2023. Globally, 2023 saw the insights industry expand by 8% from almost US$130 billion to US$142 billion. The report presents the breakdown of this turnover into its constituting sectors (market research, research software and reporting) to delve into key metrics of the research software sector globally and regionally. 

More about this report

The Global Research Software 2024 report reviews the size and performance of the market research, research software and reporting sectors of the insights industry globally with a detailed breakdown of the research software sector for each region as well as per industry segment thanks to ESOMAR’s own independent size estimations. The report includes expert commentaries on pressing issues that affect the development of the sector globally and lists the main companies of the research software sector globally. This report is widely used as a point of reference for business investment plans, growth opportunities, merger and acquisition preparation, research projects, academic theses, market studies and reports, as well as advertisements.

Table of contents

1. Global overview
   This chapter offers insight on the behaviour of the insights industry for 2023, looking at the global overview of the three sectors of the insights industry – market research, research software and reporting –, their segments and the main companies of the industry.
   1.1. Global industry and sectoral overview
   1.2. Global segmentation of the industry
   1.3. Global Top Insights Companies
2. Regional profiles
   This chapter presents the insights industry for 2023 regionally, along with the breakdown of research software segments for at a regional level.
   2.1.1. Europe
   2.1.2. US
   2.1.3. Asia Pacific
   2.1.4. Rest of the Americas
   2.1.5. Middle East and Africa
3. Synthetic data and its transformative power in the future
   With the AI looming larger than before, the terms synthetic data has been uttered in many discussions. Explore the chapter to know just the pros and cons of the synthetic data but also its use cases from experts’ perspective.
4. Synthetic data: A regulatory perspective
   Understanding the pros and cons of synthetic data is just first step as the advocacy and standards experts of ESOMAR present
5. ESOMAR's Global Top 20 Research Software Companies
   In this extract from ESOMAR’s Global Top Insights Companies publication, discover the underlying factors that keep the industry moving forward, and the key research software players who were spotted surfing the wave.
   5.1. Overall sectoral growth
   5.2. ESOMAR’s Global Top 20 Research Software Companies
6. Survey data
   Global, regional and national figures until 2023 - including 2024 projections – including growth rates and ending with the macroeconomic data used in the model. Methodology
   6.1. Insights industry: Global turnover, growth
   6.2. Research software: Regional and country data
   6.3. Macroeconomic Data