World Bank Praises Azerbaijan’s Financial Sector

The World Bank has published its Business Ready (B-READY) 2025 report, in which Azerbaijan was evaluated for the first time and achieved outstanding results in financial services.

The country scored 87.2 out of 100 in this category, placing first among the 101 economies assessed, The Caspian Post reports, citing local media.

Scores in the evaluation range from 0 to 100. The score reflects strong results across three measures used by the World Bank: regulatory framework, public services, and operational efficiency. Azerbaijan earned 94.1 points for its regulatory framework, 89.8 for public services, and 77.5 for operational efficiency.

The Business Ready report is a global comparative project launched by the World Bank in 2024 to measure how effectively economies support private sector activity. It examines ten areas that track a firm’s life cycle - from market entry and daily operations to expansion, restructuring, or exit. Each area is assessed using the same three indicators applied in the financial services category.

The 2025 edition includes official business readiness data for 101 economies. The World Bank plans to expand the assessment to 164 countries by the end of 2026, according to the report.

The full Business Ready 2025 report is available on the World Bank’s website at:

https://www.worldbank.org/en/businessready