Read this first: The government's Ease of Doing Business page on invest.gov.pk was written around 2020 and still quotes the World Bank's Doing Business rankings. That report was discontinued in September 2021 and has been replaced by a new assessment called Business Ready (B-READY). This post explains both — the history on the page, and what has happened since.
"Ease of Doing Business" became a household phrase in Pakistan after the country jumped 28 places to 108th out of 190 economies in the World Bank's last Doing Business report. That climb is still celebrated on the official investment portal. But the ranking no longer exists, and investors now look at a different yardstick. Here is the full story, in plain language.
What Was "Ease of Doing Business"?
The World Bank Group's Doing Business project measured the impact of laws, regulations, and their enforcement on local firms across 190 economies, using objective indicators such as the time and cost of starting a business, getting a construction permit, getting electricity, registering property, paying taxes, and trading across borders. Economies were then ranked from 1 to 190. The project began in 2002 and its first report, in 2003, covered 133 economies.
Pakistan's Doing Business Journey
According to the invest.gov.pk page, Pakistan's overall rank moved as follows (a lower number is better):
| Report Year | Pakistan's Rank (of 190) |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 144 |
| 2018 | 147 |
| 2019 | 136 |
| 2020 | 108 (up 28 places in a year) |
The page says almost 300 reforms had been implemented since 2016, and describes Pakistan as the top reformer in South Asia and sixth in the world in that edition.
The Six Reforms Recognised in Doing Business 2020
- Starting a business: a company can be registered in one day with SECP and FBR, with data passed in real time to the Labour Department, PESSI, SESSI, and EOBI — an end-to-end integration of 9 departments through the SECP portal.
- Construction permits: now 108 days in Lahore and 134 in Karachi, down from 266 and 261.
- Registering property: commercial property registration in 22 days in Lahore and 149 in Karachi, down from 25 and 208.
- Getting electricity: 73 days in Lahore and 134 in Karachi, down from 117 and 185, helped by online portals for LESCO and K-Electric.
- Paying taxes: online tax payment introduced; the number of payments fell from 47 to 34.
- Trading across borders: the WeBOC customs system cut export border compliance from 75 to 58 hours and import documentary compliance from 143 to 96 hours.
Indicator-by-Indicator: DB2019 vs DB2020
| Indicator | DB19 Rank | DB20 Rank | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 136 | 108 | ▲ 28 |
| Starting a business | 130 | 72 | ▲ 58 |
| Construction permits | 166 | 112 | ▲ 54 |
| Getting electricity | 167 | 123 | ▲ 44 |
| Trading across borders | 142 | 111 | ▲ 31 |
| Paying taxes | 173 | 161 | ▲ 12 |
| Registering property | 161 | 151 | ▲ 10 |
| Enforcing contracts | 156 | 156 | — 0 |
| Protecting minority investors | 26 | 28 | ▼ 2 |
| Resolving insolvency | 53 | 58 | ▼ 5 |
| Getting credit | 112 | 119 | ▼ 7 |
The pattern is clear: the big gains came in the early stages of a business's life — starting up, permits, power, and trade — while enforcing contracts, paying taxes, and registering property stayed stubbornly low.
Why the Ranking Disappeared
The page says the 2021 report was "expected in October 2020." It never appeared. In 2020 the World Bank paused the series after data irregularities were reported internally in the 2018 and 2020 editions, and on 16 September 2021 World Bank Group management announced it would discontinue the report altogether, after a series of reviews and audits. The old Doing Business website stays online as an archive of data covering 17 years, which is why Doing Business 2020 is still the last official "rank" Pakistan ever received.
Enter B-READY: The Replacement
The World Bank's new flagship, Business Ready (B-READY), was designed to be more balanced and more transparent. The main differences from Doing Business:
- No single rank: economies are shown by topic scores (0–100) and grouped in quintiles (five bands), not a 1-to-190 league table.
- Ten topics following a firm's life cycle: Business Entry, Business Location, Utility Services, Labor, Financial Services, International Trade, Taxation, Dispute Resolution, Market Competition, and Business Insolvency.
- Three pillars: Regulatory Framework (the rules on paper), Public Services (infrastructure and digital tools), and Operational Efficiency (what firms actually experience, measured through surveys).
- Open data: the World Bank publishes the underlying data and a package that lets outsiders reproduce the results.
The rollout has been in stages: B-READY 2024 covered 50 economies, B-READY 2025 covered 101, and the 2026 edition is meant to expand to roughly 160 economies, with the full dataset due by the end of 2026.
Pakistan Today: What B-READY Shows
According to analysis by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), Pakistan sat in the fourth of five quintiles overall in 2024 and in a similar position in 2025. The pillar scores PIDE reports:
| Pillar (score out of 100) | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Regulatory Framework | ~59 | 62 |
| Public Services | ~45 | 55 |
| Operational Efficiency | ~66 | 60 |
The bright spot: starting a company
The SECP reforms recognised back in 2020 still show up in the new assessment. In a statement reported on 8 September 2026, the SECP said Pakistan ranked 17th among 101 economies, with a score of 86.64, in the Business Entry topic of the B-READY 2025 report. PIDE notes that registering a domestic firm takes roughly 5–7 days.
The weak spots
PIDE's reading of the 2024 scores points to the later stages of running a business:
- International trade: about 46/100, with export clearance taking around 15 days and imports around 38 days
- Taxation: about 57/100, with filings spread across the federal FBR and provincial revenue authorities
- Dispute resolution: about 42/100 in 2024 and roughly 40 in 2025
- Market competition (about 46) and business insolvency (about 49)
PIDE blames overlapping federal, provincial, and municipal regulation — repeated NOCs, inspections, and renewals it calls "regulatory sludge" — and estimates this friction costs the economy heavily. Treat these figures as one think tank's reading of the data, and check the World Bank's Business Ready site for the official numbers.
A word of caution on comparing the two
Don't put the old "108th" next to a new B-READY score and call it progress or decline. The two systems measure different things in different ways: the old report relied on standardised case studies for a typical small company in the largest business city, while B-READY adds firm surveys and a much wider set of indicators. That's why you won't find a "Pakistan's rank today" figure in the way the old page presents one.
What's Being Done Now
The SECP has approved fresh reforms aimed at closing the remaining gaps in business entry:
- Expanding automated sharing of updated company information with the FBR through APIs, in coordination with the Board of Investment, to cut duplication
- Making information on environmental approvals and operating permits available on the SECP website
PIDE also points to the Pakistan Regulatory Modernization Initiative and the "Asaan Karobar" efforts, and recommends a true one-stop business portal, risk-based inspections, and harmonised rules across federal and provincial levels.
What It Means If You Want to Start a Business
Rankings matter less than the practical steps in front of you. Provincial tools that put these reforms into practice include the Punjab Business Registration Portal (partnership firm, shops & establishment, and PESSI registration with automatic FBR registration), the Business Facilitation Centres that bring licences, NOCs, and tax registration under one roof, and the wider set of Punjab digital platforms. Registration is the easy part, as both the old and new assessments show; the real friction is in permits, tax filings, trade clearance, and resolving disputes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Pakistan's Ease of Doing Business rank now?
There isn't a current rank. The last was 108th of 190 in Doing Business 2020, and the series was discontinued in 2021. Its successor, B-READY, reports topic scores and quintile groupings rather than a single rank.
Why did the World Bank stop Doing Business?
After data irregularities were found in the 2018 and 2020 editions, the World Bank paused the report and then, on 16 September 2021, announced it would discontinue it following a series of reviews and audits.
What is a "quintile" in B-READY?
The economies assessed are split into five equal groups. The first quintile is the top 20% and the fifth is the bottom. PIDE places Pakistan in the fourth overall, with Business Entry in the top group.
When is the next B-READY report?
The World Bank says the full B-READY 2026 dataset, covering about 164 economies, will be published by the end of 2026.
Related Reading
- Pakistan Single Window (PSW) 2026: What It Is, Services, Integrated Agencies & How to Register
- National Jobs Portal (NJP): How to Apply for Federal Govt Jobs Online
- SBP Sunwai Portal: How to Lodge & Track a Banking Complaint Online
- OCAS Punjab: Online College Admissions System Guide (Apply Online)
- CM Complaint Cell Punjab: How to Register & Track Your Complaint
- Punjab Digital Platforms: Complete Guide to Govt e-Services (2026)
- Punjab Citizen Corner: Complete Guide to Online Govt. Services 2026
- Punjab Jobs Online: Registration, Profile Builder & Job Alerts Guide
For video guide, view this video
Final Thoughts
Pakistan's jump to 108th in Doing Business 2020 was a genuine reform story, especially in company registration, permits, electricity, and trade. But that ranking is history, and the newer B-READY picture is more mixed: excellent at starting a business, weaker at everything that comes after. If you're quoting the old figures on your blog or in a business plan, say clearly that they date from 2020, and watch for the full B-READY 2026 release later this year.
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