B-READY 2025: rules on paper, services in practice

The World Bank’s B-READY 2025 results point to a gap between the quality of regulatory frameworks and the public services that put them into practice. For small-business owners, the issue is not only what a rule requires, but whether the process for complying with it is clear, accessible and timely.

What happened

The World Bank’s B-READY 2025 assessment covers 101 economies and reports an average business-readiness level of about 60%, with public-services scores around 23% below regulatory-framework scores.[1]

B-READY 2025 assesses 101 economies and gives an average business-readiness result of about 60%.
Across the assessment, public-services scores are about 23% below regulatory-framework scores.
The World Bank’s full edition covering 164 economies is due at the end of 2026.

What it means for small businesses

A rule can be clearly set out while the service for applying, complying or receiving a decision remains difficult to navigate.

The reported average is a cross-economy finding, not a rating of every country, city, permit or individual business experience.

Owners can document the steps and time involved in a process; policymakers can use that evidence to make services more predictable.