The World Bank has published its Business Ready (B-READY) 2025 report, offering a detailed snapshot of the business and investment climate across 101 economies, including Tajikistan.
The study evaluates how effectively countries support businesses through their legal frameworks, government services, and the real-world efficiency of regulations, The Caspian Post reports via Tajik media.
The B-READY assessment focuses on both the quality of laws and the way public services are delivered, measuring how well the two work together in practice. Designed to track the entire business life cycle, the 2025 edition is an interim report. A full version, covering 164 economies with more comprehensive data, is expected to be released later this year.
To compile the findings, the World Bank gathered insights from nearly 5,000 local respondents and 58,000 companies worldwide, including lawyers and industry specialists. Surveys and interviews were used to evaluate the legal and regulatory environments that shape day-to-day business operations.
How Tajikistan scored
Countries were assessed across three core pillars: Legal Framework, Government Services, and Operational Efficiency, with scores ranging from 0 to 100. Tajikistan recorded mixed results:
Legal Framework: 59.8
Government Services: 40.4
Operational Efficiency: 64.6
The report also breaks performance down by key stages of the business life cycle, from starting a company to resolving disputes or exiting the market.
Tajikistan’s strongest results were seen in Starting a Business (71.2 points) and Financial Services (79.9 points), reflecting relatively favorable conditions for access to credit, electronic payments, and financial infrastructure. Solid scores were also recorded in Labor (66.3 points), which assesses labor laws and services for both employers and workers.
At the same time, several areas lagged behind. International Trade, Taxation, and Business Location all scored just above the 50-point mark, indicating room for improvement. The weakest results were recorded in Business Insolvency (39.5 points), Market Competition (39.9 points), and Dispute Resolution (40.9 points), highlighting challenges in bankruptcy procedures, fair competition, and the effective settlement of commercial disputes.
Broader findings
Beyond country rankings, the B-READY 2025 report delivers a stark global message. According to the World Bank, countries that most urgently need to create jobs are often the least prepared to do so. On average, business conditions worldwide operate at just 60 per cent of their potential, with little progress recorded in 2025.
The report draws particular attention to economies with young populations and low growth rates, where job demand is high but government services remain weak and enforcement of laws falls short. This gap, the World Bank warns, undermines economic growth and increases socio-economic risks - making reforms to the business environment more critical than ever.
