Abstract
The National Consulting Index (NCI) estimates the revenue contribution of the management consulting sector (MCS) to a nation’s gross domestic product (GDP). It is a useful metric that allows for a comparative analysis of the strength of an MCS in one country with others. This index, a brainchild of the International Council of Management Consulting Institutes (ICMCI) in 2018, has developed to hold significance in the global management consulting landscape, shaping how we understand and evaluate the sector. (Haslam et al., 2020).
This paper provides a comprehensive update on the NCI project, including an estimate of the size of the MCS in 2024 in 189 countries. The NCI project also serves as a gateway to unique qualitative insights from member institutes of management consulting (IMCs) about the trends and dynamics of their management consulting industry, offering a deeper understanding of the industry's evolution and prospects.
Introduction
Starting in 2018, the NCI project was created to gain insight into national differences in the management consulting sector and to develop a data-driven method for calculating the sector’s size in each country. The 2024 NCI project is more than a compilation of data. It is a significant endeavour that refines and strengthens the computational model for estimating an NCI, updates earlier estimates of the size of the MCS in each country for which data are available, and uses the findings to learn more about the trends and characteristics of the consulting market. The invaluable contributions of the ICMCI Member institutes, which are at the heart of this crucial initiative, provide unique and invaluable insights that are not available anywhere else.
Background
Starting in 2018, the NCI project was created to gain insight into national differences in the management consulting sector and to develop a data-driven method for calculating the sector’s size in each country. The 2025 NCI project builds on the earlier testing and regression analysis and strengthens the computational model for estimating an NCI.
The 2025 NCI project updates earlier estimates of the size of the MCS in each country for which data are available, and uses the findings to learn more about the trends and characteristics of the consulting market. The invaluable contributions of the ICMCI Member institutes (IMCs), which are at the heart of this initiative, provide unique and invaluable insights that are not available anywhere else.
This paper contains the key insights from this latest stage in the NCI project. It outlines the project method and background and presents the analysis results in two parts. The first part provides financial estimates (US$m) for the MCS in the studied countries. The second part, perhaps the most intriguing, reports insights from those ICMCI Member institutes that provided commentary. These insights, exclusive to this paper, are valuable for understanding the management consulting industry. The paper concludes with a reflection on the NCI project and its implications for future research.
Read the full NCI 2025 Edition.