Methodology

How Mapriq computes scores — data sources, normalization, and weighting for each module.

Core Normalization

All sub-scores across every module use the same min-max normalization formula. If min === max the result defaults to 50 (neutral). All final scores are integers in [0, 100].

normalized = clamp(((value - min) / (max - min)) × 100, 0, 100)

1. Site Selection

Evaluates a geographic coordinate for business site suitability. Results are cached with coordinates rounded to 4 decimal places (~11 m precision).

Regional Weights

Sub-scoreUSIndiaOther
Demographics0.250.300.25
POI0.250.250.30
Competition0.200.200.25
Accessibility0.100.100.10
Risk0.100.050.00
Sentiment0.100.100.10

1.1 Demographics

US Census ACS (US)World Bank (non-US)
Metric (US)RangeWeight
Population500 – 50,00040%
Median income$20k – $150k40%
Age balancepenalty formula20%

Age balance: 100 − |medianAge − 35| × 3 clamped to [0, 100]. Ideal age is 35; each year of deviation costs 3 points.

Indicator (non-US)RangeWeight
GDP per capita$1k – $80k1.0×
Population (log₁₀)10⁶ – 1.5×10⁹0.5×
Life expectancy50 – 85 yr0.5×

1.2 Points of Interest

OpenStreetMap via Overpass API

Categories tracked: restaurant, retail, grocery, healthcare, education, transit, banking, entertainment, fitness, fuel.

MetricRangeWeight
Density0 – 200 POIs40%
Diversity0 – 8 unique categories35%
Essential services0 – 3 (healthcare + grocery + banking)25%

1.3 Competition

OpenStreetMap via Overpass API

Competition is inversely scored — a moderate number of competitors is ideal; too many hurts the score.

CategoryOptimalPenalised above
Retail≤ 15> 15 up to 50
Restaurant≤ 20> 20 up to 60

1.4 Accessibility

OpenStreetMap via Overpass API
MetricRangeWeight
Transit stops0 – 2070%
Fuel stations0 – 530%

1.5 Risk

FBI Crime API (US only)

Active for US (weight 0.10) and India (weight 0.05). Weight is 0 for all other regions. Defaults to 50 if no data.

MetricRangeDirection
Violent crime /100k200 (safe) – 800 (dangerous)Inverse

1.6 Sentiment

GDELT Project API (3-month window)
MetricRangeWeight
Media tone−10 – +1060%
Article count0 – 1040%

2. Market Expansion

Evaluates a country's attractiveness for business expansion using macro indicators.

Sub-scoreWeight
Economic0.30
Demographic0.20
Business Environment0.20
Infrastructure0.15
Trade Openness0.15

2.1 Economic Strength

World Bank API
IndicatorRangeWeight
GDP per capita$500 – $80k40%
GDP growth rate−5% – +10%30%
Inflation stabilitydeviation from 2%30%

2.2 Demographics & Market Size

World Bank API
IndicatorRangeWeight
Market size (log₁₀)10⁵ – 10^9.230%
Urbanization20% – 100%30%
Life expectancy50 – 85 yr20%
Population growth−1% – +3%20%

2.3 Business Environment

World Bank API
IndicatorRangeWeight
Tax environmentdeviation from 20% of GDP30%
FDI attractiveness$0 – $50B40%
Ease of entry1 – 100 days30%

2.4 Infrastructure

World Bank API
IndicatorRangeWeight
Internet penetration0% – 100%40%
Electricity access0% – 100%30%
Mobile subscriptions0 – 150 per 10030%

2.5 Trade Openness

UN ComtradeWorld Bank
MetricRangeWeight
Trade volume (log₁₀)log₁₀($10⁶) – log₁₀($10¹²)40%
Trade balanceexport share 30% – 70%30%
Partner diversity0 – 20 top partners30%

Attractiveness Classification

ScoreLabel
≥ 70High
50 – 69Moderate
30 – 49Emerging
< 30Challenging

3. Climate Risk

Higher score = safer location. All climate sub-scores are inverted — raw danger values are normalized to [0, 100] then subtracted from 100 before weighting.

Sub-scoreWeight
Earthquake0.25
Flood0.20
Wildfire0.20
Weather0.20
Air Quality0.15

3.1 Earthquake Risk

USGS Earthquake API (past 365 days)
MetricRangeWeight
Event frequency0 – 5030%
Max magnitude0 – 8 Mw40%
Avg magnitude0 – 6 Mw30%

3.2 Flood Risk

NOAA Weather API
MetricRangeWeight
Flood frequency0 – 20 events50%
Severity0 – 10 severe events50%

3.3 Wildfire Risk

NASA FIRMS (active fire detections)
MetricRangeWeight
Fire frequency0 – 100 spots60%
Intensity (bright_ti4)300 – 500 K40%

3.4 Weather Severity

OpenWeatherMap current conditions
MetricRangeWeight
Temperature comfort±30°C from 20°C ideal20%
Humidity comfort±50% from 50% ideal10%
Wind risk0 – 30 m/s30%
Active alerts0 – 540%

3.5 Air Quality

OpenWeatherMap Air Pollution API
MetricRangeWeight
AQI1 (Good) – 5 (Very Poor)50%
PM2.50 – 75 µg/m³30%
PM100 – 150 µg/m³20%

Risk Level Classification

ScoreLabel
≥ 75Low
50 – 74Moderate
25 – 49High
< 25Extreme

4. Trade Intelligence

Evaluates the bilateral trade relationship between two countries.

Sub-scoreWeight
Volume0.30
Balance0.15
Diversification0.20
Growth Trend0.20
Sentiment0.15

4.1 Trade Volume

UN Comtrade

All three metrics normalized on log₁₀ scale to handle the wide USD range.

MetricLog₁₀ rangeWeight
Total volume6 – 11.750%
Export volume5 – 1125%
Import volume5 – 1125%

4.2 Trade Balance

UN Comtrade

Perfect balance (50/50 export/import split) → 100. Complete one-sidedness → 0.

4.3 Diversification

UN Comtrade (commodity breakdown)
MetricRangeWeight
Unique commodities0 – 3050%
Concentration risk (top item share)10% – 80%50%

4.4 Growth Trend

World Bank trade indicators
MetricRangeWeight
Trade growth−10% – +20%60%
Trade-to-GDP10% – 200%40%

4.5 Trade Sentiment

GDELT Project API
MetricRangeWeight
Media tone−10 – +1060%
Article count0 – 5040%

Trade Relationship Classification

ScoreLabel
≥ 70Strong
50 – 69Growing
30 – 49Moderate
< 30Weak

Data Source Reference

SourceUsed ByCache TTL
US Census ACSSite Selection (Demographics)30 days
World Bank APIMarket Expansion, Site Selection7 days
OpenStreetMap (Overpass)Site Selection (POI, Competition, Accessibility)7 days
FBI Crime APISite Selection (Risk, US only)30 days
GDELT ProjectSite Selection (Sentiment), Trade Intelligence (Sentiment)1 day
USGS Earthquake APIClimate Risk1 day
NOAA Weather APIClimate Risk (Flood)1 hour
NASA FIRMSClimate Risk (Wildfire)1 hour
OpenWeatherMapClimate Risk (Weather, Air Quality)30 mins
UN ComtradeTrade Intelligence7 days
IMF DataMapperMarket Expansion7 days
HomeSitesClimateMarketsTrade