Azerbaijan has been placed 5th out of 101 countries in terms of operational efficiency of internet services, scoring 31.05 points, Report informs, citing the Information and Communication Technologies Agency (ICTA) under the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport.
According to ICTA, this achievement is reflected in the World Bank's Business Ready-2025 (B-READY) report.
The B-READY shows that Azerbaijan ranked within the top 30 for regulatory quality (17th with 30.83 points) and governance-transparency indicators (27th with 29.17 points).
Overall, Azerbaijan scored 83.05 points in the utilities indicator, securing 25th place and surpassing other countries in the region. Internet services were identified as the sub-indicator contributing most to this result.
The study, covering 101 economies, assessed the business and investment environment based on three main criteria: regulatory framework, public services, and operational efficiency. The report also established average indicators across thematic areas.
Replacing the Doing Business report, B-READY offers a more balanced and transparent approach to evaluating the business environment. Its methodology was developed with input from World Bank experts, governments, the private sector, and civil society institutions, ensuring a balance between de jure and de facto indicators, as well as comparability and representativeness of data.
In September 2021, the World Bank announced it would discontinue the Doing Business reports after uncovering irregularities in data collection and presentation. Azerbaijan was among four countries directly affected.
Investigations revealed that China and Saudi Arabia's indicators had been exaggerated, while Azerbaijan's rankings in the 2018 and 2020 Doing Business reports were artificially lowered due to biased assessments.