Insights Shaping the Future of Business Analysis
IIBA’s Global State of Business Analysis Report is your essential resource for career trends and statistics in business analysis. As an exclusive member benefit, this annual report offers invaluable insights into compensation, skills, developments, and demographics that define the business analysis community.
Business Analysis: Anchoring Strategy in Uncertain Times
Business analysis empowers organizations to adapt, innovate, and lead with purpose. IIBA’s Global State of Business Analysis Report provides a broad view of key insights, current topics, demographics, and factors shaping the practice worldwide—helping professionals navigate uncertainty and drive better outcomes.
Key Findings
Drawing on responses from more than 2,380 professionals across 171 countries, the Global State of Business Analysis Report offers a snapshot of the business analysis profession today.
The report highlights key findings that deliver valuable insights for professionals and organizations navigating the global business environment.
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The Global Business Analysis Landscape
Understanding the current state of the industry is key to navigating challenges. Explore the diversity of the report's respondents from around the world.
Which Age Groups Are Represented?
The under-25 age group saw a significant rise from 8% to 19%—a 137.5% increase, possibly indicating a growing interest in business analysis among younger professionals. As with the last report, the 36 to 45 age group remains the largest, further solidifying the shift away from the previously dominant 25 to 35 age group.
2025 Global State of Business Analysis Report
IIBA’s Global State of Business Analysis Report explores the current business analysis landscape, capturing insights from professionals worldwide and reflecting the diverse experiences and perspectives shaping the field today. Read on for valuable information on salary, high-paying industries, work experience, and more.
Discover Global Salary Insights
Explore how much business analysis professionals earn based on experience, industries, regions, and more.
Salaries by experience level remain stable year over year. The most notable increase occurred among professionals with 11 to 16 years of experience, rising from $91,501 to $94,913. Meanwhile, salaries for those with over 17 years of experience dipped slightly from $105,268 to $104,852. Other experience brackets, including 0 to 2 years and 3 to 5 years, saw only minimal changes.
Salary and compensation trends point to a steady and positive trajectory for business analysis professionals. Take a look at the average salaries across the highest-paying industries, with Consulting and Professional Services leading at $92,273.
Certification Impact
Certification goes beyond proving your skills—it boosts your marketability, employability, and earning potential, helping you feel confident and fulfilled in your work.
Certification Distribution Among Respondents
The most pursued certification is the Certified Business Analysis Professional, followed by the Agile Analysis Certification and the Entry Certificate in Business Analysis, which was updated this year to reflect evolving expectations for early-career professionals.
Would You Recommend Certification to a Colleague to Support Career Development?
Support for certification has climbed steadily over the past few years, with 93% of respondents now recommending it to colleagues as a valuable tool for career development. This remains an overwhelming majority, reflecting continued confidence in the value of professional certification.
For the fourth year in a row, increased confidence at work remains the most reported benefit of certification—a consistent trend that underscores certification’s lasting impact beyond skill validation. It helps professionals feel more assured and capable in their roles. Upskilling continues to be a close second, with steady gains in salary increases and promotions also noted.
When Did You Start Seeing the Benefits of Certification?
Among the individuals surveyed, 81% saw certification benefits within a year, while 35% benefited within one month, slightly higher than the previous report’s figure of 32%. This underscores the continued and consistent recognition of certification’s value in the workplace.
2025 Global State of Business Analysis Report
IIBA’s Global State of Business Analysis Report explores the current business analysis landscape, capturing insights from professionals worldwide and reflecting the diverse experiences and perspectives shaping the field today. Read on for valuable information on salary, high-paying industries, work experience, and more.
Business Maturity
We explore how the role of business analysis has matured, its growing influence on organizational strategies, and its impact on shaping key decisions.
Role of Business Analysis
The top three roles—enabling change by defining needs and recommending solutions (23%), collecting, synthesizing, and analyzing information (20%), and evaluating and improving business processes (19%)—remain largely consistent with last year’s report.
Is there a Shortage of Business Analysis Professionals in Your Area?
There’s a stable outlook on the availability of business analysis talent in local markets. The perception of a shortage of business analysis professionals remains largely unchanged from last year. Those seeing evidence of a shortage slightly decreased from 37% to 34%, while the proportion reporting a significant shortage increased from 27% to 30%. The share of respondents who don’t see evidence of a shortage remained steady at 30%, and those noting an abundance stayed consistent at 6%.
Employer investment in skills training remains strong. The majority of employees report that their employers continue to invest in skills training. This year, 74% of respondents indicated their employers allocate funds for ongoing development, reflecting a slight decrease from 76% last year.
Preferred learning methods continue to evolve. Respondents still prioritize self-study as their primary method for skill development, with a slight increase from 33% to 35% this year. Blended learning (online and in-person) and online courses both saw minor decreases, from 28% to 27%. Classroom learning saw a slight uptick from 11% to 12%.
Artificial Intelligence and Human Skills
As artificial intelligence (AI) develops, human skills have become increasingly important for business analysis professionals. Skills such as communication, critical thinking, and adaptability empower business analysis professionals to meet business needs and align them with strategic goals.
Impact of Artificial Intelligence
With the increasing integration of artificial intelligence in various industries, including business analysis, 74% of respondents anticipate a positive impact on their careers.
Which Business Data Analytics Skills Are Most Important in Your Role
Problem-solving (17%) and communication (16%) continue to lead as the most valued skills, followed closely by creative thinking and data literacy (13% each). Organizational knowledge and specialized skills each account for 12%, with facilitation (9%) and leadership and influencing (8%) rounding out the list. These findings are consistent with last year’s results, highlighting a stable view of the core competencies needed in data analytics roles.
2025 Global State of Business Analysis Report
IIBA’s Global State of Business Analysis Report explores the current business analysis landscape, capturing insights from professionals worldwide and reflecting the diverse experiences and perspectives shaping the field today. Read on for valuable information on salary, high-paying industries, work experience, and more.
Explore More Global Research from IIBA
2023-2024 Global State of Business Analysis Report
Elevate Your Career with Insights
The Global State of Business Analysis Report provides a broad view of the skill sets, trends, and demographics that influence the global profession. The reports are part of a series that delves into key areas of business analysis such as salaries, certification, career satisfaction, high-paying industries, education, and more.
2022 Global State of Business Analysis Report
Career-focused Insights You Need to Know
IIBA’s 2022 Global State of Business Analysis Report (GSBA) provides a view of today’s trends and statistics in business analysis. New this year, Career Journey addresses what professionals need to know about business analysis career phases, with specific insights including salary, organization types, job titles, and more.
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Being Nimble: The Scalable Capability for Organizations to Sense and Respond to Change
As part of IIBA’s Global Research, Being Nimble examines the established concept of business agility and identifies ways that organizations can improve their ability to sense and respond to change through the application of business analysis. Over 65% of organizations with high nimble capacity are best in class or exceed their peers in responding to change.
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