Georgia tops World Bank's 2024 Business Ready report in labour, business location, dispute resolution

Georgia has scored highest results in labour, business location, and dispute resolution in the inaugural Business Ready report by the World Bank, published on Thursday, which assesses the regulatory framework and public services directed at firms, and the efficiency with which regulatory framework and public services are combined in practice.

The report reads the Georgian economy implements “good practices” in its labour dispute resolution mechanisms and land dispute mechanisms within these areas, and offers “substantive” legal safeguards in mediation.

On the other hand, the country scored lowest in market competition, taxation, and utility services.

Within these areas, for example, the economy has room for improvement in university-industry collaboration, lacks an annual national tax audit plan, and lacks regulations for the joint planning and construction of internet infrastructure”, the report reads.

Screenshot from the report.

Norman Loayza, the Director of the World Bank’s Indicators Group, which leads the Business Ready project, said while richer economies tend to have a more conducive environment for businesses, it is not a requirement for a country to be wealthy in order to foster a strong business environment, mentioning Georgia as example of low- and middle-income economies which created a business-friendly climate.

Richer economies do tend to be more business-ready, but economies need not be rich to have a good business environment. Our analysis finds that low- and middle-income economies can also achieve a strong business-enabling climate. Rwanda, Georgia, Colombia, Viet Nam, and Nepal, for example, do well in various areas such as the quality of regulations, strength of public services, and overall efficiency of the system”, Loayza said.

The report, which assesses the business climate in 50 economies, provides a dataset – 1,200 indicators per economy – to identify specific areas where there is room for improvement and motivate reforms. The World Bank said coverage would increase over the next three years to reach about 180 economies in 2026, providing a full global benchmark.