【DATA NOTES】

The Country Risk Assessment is an indicator of the overall level of trade credit risk in a country at a given point in time. More specifically, it assesses how the ability of firms to generate cash flow is shaped by the country’s structural characteristics (level of development, fiscal sustainability, quality of governance, social/political risks, sensitivity to climate risk) and the macroeconomic conditions of the moment. The country risk assessment covers 160 countries on an 8-step scale: A1, A2, A3, A4, B, C, D, E, in order of increasing risk.

A1 Very good macroeconomic and financial outlook. Stable political context. Very low sovereign. 
A2 Good macroeconomic and financial outlook. Generally stable political context. Overall good sovereign and climate risk. 
A3 Less favourable macroeconomic and financial outlook. Political context remains stable. satisfactory climate and sovereign risk. 
A4 Economic and financial outlook could be marked by some weaknesses. Political context could suffer from tension. Non-trivial climate and sovereign risk. 
B Uncertain economic and financial outlook. Political context could suffer strong tensions. Exposure to climate and/or sovereign risk is a noticeable issue. 
C Very uncertain economic and financial outlook. Political context could be unstable. Exposure to climate and/or sovereign risk is a significant issue. 
D Highly uncertain economic and financial outlook. Very unstable political context. Sovereign and/or climate risk represent a material threat. 
E Extremely uncertain economic and financial outlook. Extremely unstable political context.