The World Bank Group’s Business Ready 2024 (B-READY) report represents a significant shift in evaluating global business environments. It not only assesses the regulatory environment but also includes evaluations of public services, operational efficiency, and their broader societal impact. Unlike the previous discontinued Doing Business project, B-READY provides a more holistic and transparent approach, offering a comprehensive framework for understanding the factors that shape business climates in economies around the world.
The B-READY report is structured around three pillars and ten topics. The pillars are:
The Regulatory Framework, Public Services, and Operational Efficiency. These pillars are assessed across ten topics that represent the stages in the life cycle of a business, from entry to operation and eventual closure. B-READY generates two types of scores for each economy, topic scores and pillar scores, both ranging from 0 to 100. Each topic score is assessed based on the average of the three pillar performance, where the score of each pillar is calculated as the average across all ten pillars. The ten topics are the following:
And each of these topics is assessed under the three pillars, which helps ensure a comprehensive evaluation of the business environment.
Regulatory Framework: This pillar focuses on the rules and regulations that firms must follow along their business cycle, assessing areas such as Business Entry, Taxation, and Market Competition (3 examples out of 10 topics). Indicators in this pillar measure the clarity, fairness, and sustainability of regulations, such as the ease of starting a business, the transparency of tax systems, and the protection against anti-competitive practices.
Public Services: This pillar evaluates the government services and infrastructure available to businesses, such as utilities and digital services. Topics like Utility Services, Labor, and Financial Services fall under this pillar, among the other seven, and indicators assess the reliability of electricity and water, the quality of public labor services, and access to financial services for business.
Operational Efficiency: This pillar looks at how efficiently businesses can comply with regulations and use public services. Business Location, Dispute Resolution, and Business Insolvency, are three out of ten of the topics assessed under this pillar. Indicators here measure the time and cost required to obtain permits, the speed of resolving disputes, and the effectiveness of insolvency processes.
The following table shows a sample scoring per topic:
Among the 50 economies assessed, several stand out for their exceptional performance:
Singapore scores the highest average in topics (76.701) among economies showcased in the table above, and proceeds to emerge as a leader in Operational Efficiency, with a score of 87.33. It simplifies processes for registering businesses, obtaining permits, and resolving disputes, positioning it at the leading edge of global business readiness. The Business Entry and Dispute Resolution topics are particularly strong, supported by indicators that measure the time and cost involved in starting a business and resolving legal conflicts.
Estonia excels in Public Services with a score of 73.31, largely due to its emphasis on digital governance, including compatible government services and transparent databases. Estonia’s strong performance in the Utility Services and Taxation topics reflects its commitment to ensuring that businesses have access to reliable public services and efficient tax systems, as measured by indicators on digitalization and service availability.
Hungary achieves the highest score in the Regulatory Framework pillar at 78.23, showcasing a well-structured legal environment that balances firm flexibility with worker protections. Indicators within the Labor and Market Competition topics show that Hungary has developed strong legal protections for workers while promoting a competitive business environment.
Top performing economies tend to excel across various topics. For example, Georgia ranks highly in both Regulatory Framework and Operational Efficiency, despite being a middle-income country.
While the report celebrates top performers, it also underscores global disparities. The average score for Public Services (68.82) are significantly lower than the average score for Regulatory Framework (76.45) and Operational Efficiency (78.67). This gap highlights the need for improved infrastructure in many regions.
Low income and lower-middle income economies often demonstrated the greatest challenges. For instance, countries like Sierra Leone and Chad scored at the bottom quintiles for Public Services and Operational Efficiency, reflecting limited access to basic needs. These constraints not only restrain entrepreneurial growth but also exacerbate broader economic challenges. The Utility Services topic is particularly telling in these economies, where unreliable servicers can severely hinder business performance.
While the report provides insights into various regions, the representation of MENA countries is limited. Morocco, for instance, scores 68.92 in Regulatory Framework, placing it in the third quintile globally. However, its Public Services score of 58.66 highlights challenges in infrastructure and governance. Iraq on the other hand scores 49.39 in Regulatory Framework, 21.45 in Public Services, and 46.79 in Operational Efficiency, placing it at the bottom quintile thus reflecting significant challenges in key areas critical for business. Notably, Lebanon is absent from the report. Given its severe economic crisis, Lebanon’s exclusion likely reflects both data collection challenges and its strained business environment.
The data also highlights regional and income level diversity. High income economies tend to dominate the top quintiles across all pillars. However, B-READY emphasizes that income level is not a sole determinant of success. For example, Colombia and Rwanda, upper-middle income and low income countries respectively, outperform several high income economies in key topics like Public Services and Regulatory Frameworks. Other key findings showcase how economies tend to be more effective at implementing regulations than delivering public services. And while existing firms can survive under challenging conditions, both current and potential business environment improved. Additionally, most economies still have significant opportunities for improvement across all B-READY topics.
Economies with strong Regulatory Frameworks often show a positive correlation with higher GDP per capita, as demonstrated by the strong association between Regulatory Framework scores and economic performance. However, the report reveals that operational gaps persist, even in well-regulated economies, emphasizing the importance of aligning policies with practical implementation.
The report combines primary data collected from over 2,000 experts, including specialists from the private sector and government, as well as firm level data gathered through the World Bank Enterprise Surveys. This combination ensures that the report’s findings are both expert driven and grounded in real world business experience.
B-READY marks the beginning of a three year rollout phase. In 2024, the report evaluates 50 economies; by 2026, it aims to cover 180, providing a truly global benchmark. As methodology and data collection improve, the report will continue to refine its insights, enabling economies to identify targeted areas for reform.
By: Jana Boumatar
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