The ease of doing business index was created by the World Bank Group. Higher rankings (a low numerical value) indicate better, usually simpler, regulations for businesses and stronger protections of property rights. Empirical research funded by the World Bank to justify their work show that the economic growth impact of improving these regulations is strong.
The survey consists of a questionnaire designed by the Doing Business team with the assistance of academic advisers. The questionnaire centers on a simple business case that ensures comparability across economies and over time. The survey also bases assumptions on the legal form of the business, size, location, and nature of its operations. The ease of doing business index is meant to measure regulations directly affecting businesses and does not directly measure more general conditions such as a nation’s proximity to large markets, quality of infrastructure, inflation, or crime.
The next step of gathering data surveys of over 12,500 expert contributors (lawyers, accountants etc.) in 190 countries who deal with business regulations in their day-to-day work. For the 2017 report, team members visited 34 economies to verify data and to recruit respondents. Data from the survey is subjected to several rounds of verification. The surveys are not a statistical sample, and the results are interpreted and cross-checked for consistency before being included in the report.
| Country | Ease of Doing Business Rank | Filtered Rank (in Europe and Central Asia region) |
| Georgia | 9 | 1 |
| Estonia | 12 | |
| Lithuania | 16 | 3 |
| Latvia | 19 | |
| Kazakhstan | 36 | 5 |
| Belarus | 38 | 6 |
| Moldova | 44 | 10 |
| Armenia | 47 | 12 |
| Azerbaijan | 57 | 16 |
| Uzbekistan | 74 | 19 |
| Ukraine | 76 | 20 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 77 | 21 |
| Tajikistan | 123 | 24 |
