Short answer
Testigo loads the manufacturing rows of one official registry per country, 1,498,009 rows in 9 countries in the data file of
Key facts
- Countries
- 9
- Rows loaded
- 1,498,009
- Official lists
- 15
- Data file
2026-10-12 - Last audit against the source files
2026-10-06
What a row is
Testigo says plant for every row, because that is what a buyer is looking for. The unit behind the word depends on the registry, and each record names it.
| Country | Registry and publisher | A row is | Edition read |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mexico | DENUE, INEGI | An establishment: one site | |
| Brazil | CNPJ, Receita Federal | An establishment: a head office or a branch | |
| Argentina | Registro Nacional de Sociedades, Ministerio de Justicia | A company | |
| Colombia | RUES, Confecámaras | A company | |
| Peru | Padrón RUC, SUNAT | A company | |
| Chile | Nómina SII + RETC, SII · Ministerio del Medio Ambiente | A company, or a plant in the emissions register | |
| Ecuador | Directorio de compañías, Superintendencia de Compañías | A company | |
| Paraguay | RIEL + maquila, MIC | A company | |
| Uruguay | Directorio de Empresas Industriales, MIEM | A company | |
Which rows are loaded
Only manufacturing rows are loaded: ISIC divisions 10 to 33, or the same range in the national classification. Each country then has one rule, written below as the site shows it.
| Country | Manufacturing rows in the source | Rows loaded | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mexico | 656,617 | 655,218 | Establishments of every size. Left out: rows with no name, and units with 10 or fewer staff named only after a person. |
| Brazil | 580,085 | 580,085 | Active legal entities |
| Argentina | 131,846 | 74,039 | Active legal entities |
| Colombia | 202,881 | 70,609 | Active legal entities |
| Peru | 78,588 | 75,163 | Active legal entities |
| Chile | 76,464 | 28,208 | Companies with at least one worker, plus plants in the emissions register |
| Ecuador | 14,840 | 11,767 | Active legal entities |
| Paraguay | 2,270 | 2,270 | Every row in the source |
| Uruguay | 885 | 650 | Every row registered to a company. Rows registered to a natural person are left out. |
Rows that belong to a natural person are left out wherever the registry lets them be told apart. Brazil's extract drops 1,550,283 such rows and Uruguay's 235. In Mexico, a unit with 10 or fewer staff that is named only after a person is not loaded.
Activities, industries and regions
- Activity codes are the registry's own: SCIAN in Mexico, CNAE in Brazil and ISIC Rev. 4 in the other countries. Paraguay's source has no activity code.
- An industry and a segment are Testigo's grouping of those codes in the words buyers use. They describe the activity a registry lists, not what one plant can make.
- A region is the first-level division the registry names: a state, a province, a department or a region. Rows with no usable region are counted in the country total and reported as a line of their own.
- Where a registry gives no coordinates, a record shows the centre of the municipality it names, from GeoNames, and labels it approximate.
How a count is made
Every figure on the directory and statistics pages is computed from the same extract files that are loaded, with the same row rule, when the site is built. Nothing is typed by hand, rounded or estimated. A total on a statistics page equals the rows loaded for that country on the coverage page.
- A count by region or by activity is the number of loaded rows with that value.
- A share with a website, a phone or an email counts rows where the registry holds the field. It says nothing about whether the value still works.
- Size follows the registry: staff in Mexico, Peru and Chile, a size class by revenue in Brazil. Where a registry gives no size, no size table is shown.
- One table holds one edition. Editions are never mixed.
What each lamp means
| Lamp | Lit | Unlit |
|---|---|---|
| On the registry | The row is in the edition named on the record | Not used: every record is on a registry |
| Coordinates | The registry gives a position for the plant | No position on the record, or an approximate one |
| Phone, Email, Website | The registry holds the field | The registry holds nothing for it |
| Testigo's checks | The website responded or the email domain accepts mail, on the date shown | Not run, with the reason |
What is checked, and what is not
Testigo runs three checks of its own on plants that publish a website or an email: 88,868 websites were requested and 79,232 responded, 4,448 plants name a certificate on their site, and 542,361 of 560,751 email domains accept mail. Totals as of
- Tax and sanction lists are matched by tax ID, never by name. Mexico's programme directories share no key with its plant registry, so they are tied by exact company name, and the record says so.
- Certificates, capacity, quality, financial health and site visits are not checked. Each record says so.
- A certificate named on a plant's website is the plant's claim, not a confirmation.
Editions and updates
Each registry is loaded as its publisher releases it. Testigo does not promise a fixed interval, because publishers do not keep one. Instead every record, every page and every file carries the edition date that was read, and the date of the data file.
Changes to the product and to the data are dated on the updates page. If the record of your company is wrong, or you want it corrected or removed, use the contact form.
Licences, and how to cite Testigo
Each registry keeps its publisher's licence, stated source by source on the coverage page. Credit the publisher as well as Testigo. Colombia's registry is share-alike, so a table built from it keeps that licence.
- For a count: Testigo, from INEGI DENUE, edition
2026-05-20 , with the address of the page and the day you read it. - For a record: the plant's name as the registry writes it, the registry, the edition, and Testigo as the place you read it.
- Always give the edition date. An address on Testigo shows the current edition, and a count changes when a new one is loaded.
Frequently asked questions
Why does Testigo's count differ from other sources?
Counts differ because sources count different things. Testigo counts rows of one named registry edition under one stated rule. Another source may count companies instead of establishments, include closed units, use an older edition or leave out very small units. Compare the unit, the rule and the date before you compare the numbers.
Is a plant on Testigo sure to be operating?
No. A record repeats what the registry said on its edition date. Registries can hold units that have closed or moved. Testigo adds dated signals where it can, such as a website that responded, but it has not visited any plant. Treat a record as a lead to confirm, not as proof.
How do I report an error?
Use the contact form and name the record. If the registry itself is wrong, the correction belongs with its publisher, and Testigo will show it when the next edition is loaded. If Testigo misread the registry, the record is fixed. A company can also ask for its own record to be corrected or removed.
Can I reuse the counts?
Yes, with credit to Testigo and to the publisher of the registry, under that publisher's licence. The statistics tables download as CSV files with the registry and the edition on every row. Plant-level data is not offered for download on the website. Lists you build in your account export as CSV with Pro.
Sources
- DENUEINEGI · edition
2026-05-20 - CNPJReceita Federal · edition
2026-09-14 - Registro Nacional de SociedadesMinisterio de Justicia · edition
2026-09-18 - RUESConfecámaras · edition
2026-10-02 - Padrón RUCSUNAT · edition
2026-09-30 - GeoNames gazetteerGeoNames · edition as downloaded for the
2026-10-12 data file