Bulgaria ranks among top countries in providing favourable environment for starting businesses - World Bank report

The World Bank released its Business Ready annual ranking, based on its updated survey of business conditions in 50 countries around the world.

Business Ready 2024 is structured around three key pillars that reflect the opportunities for doing business in a country - Regulatory Framework (Pillar I), Public Services (Pillar II) and Operational Efficiency (Pillar III).

The level of the three indicators in the individual countries included in the World Bank ranking is reflected on a scale of 100 points. Here, 0 points indicate the lowest level of a given indicator of the conditions for doing business in a country, and 100 points reflect the highest possible level.

The first pillar (Regulatory Framework), covers the rules and regulations that companies have to comply with when doing business. Bulgaria is rated with 76.33 points, which puts the country among the leaders in this indicator, ranking 6th, according to the World Bank report.

The second pillar (Public Services) entails ensuring that companies are able to comply with the rules and regulations in a country, and that the infrastructure is in place to enable them to successfully grow their business. Bulgaria scored 64.03 points on this indicator, which puts it just behind the top 10 countries, ranked 11th.

The third pillar (Operational Efficiency) represents the extent to which state and municipal administrative services help companies to develop their business, and how restrictive are the regulatory and other legal rules in a country (whether they have a rather negative or rather positive impact on companies' business activities). Bulgaria scored 70.49 points on this indicator, placing it among the top 8 countries listed. 

Bulgaria's economy profile reads that the country "allows business entry for domestic and foreign firms with minimal restrictions, provides transparent information (connection requirements, tariffs, complaint mechanisms, for water and electricity, and does not have many restrictions on digital trade". Bulgaria scores highest in Business Entry, Utility Services, and International Trade.

The country scores lowest in Taxation, Market Competition, and Business Insolvency. Within these areas, the economy does not request taxpayers’ feedback on tax reforms and procedures, lacks a regulatory oversight mechanism for state-owned enterprises from a competition perspective, and does not provide for specialized insolvency proceedings for micro and small enterprises, the World Bank's economy profile for Bulgaria reads.

The Business Ready ranking does not include developed economies such as the US, Germany, France or Japan.