Pakistan outranks India in World Bank Doing Business Index, again

Pakistan ranks third in South Asian region, leaves Bangladesh and India trailing.

Pakistan dropped 3 places to rank at 107 in the World Bank’s ‘Ease of Doing Business’ index for 2013, according to data released on Tuesday.

In the South Asian region, however, Pakistan ranked third, below Sri Lanka and the Maldives, and left Bangladesh and India trailing behind at 129 and 132 respectively.

While Bangladesh also fell five places, India maintained its position compared to 2012.

Within Pakistan, Faisalabad led the pack in Ease of Doing Business with the next five places also going to cities from Punjab. Karachi ranked in at number 9.

How are countries ranked?

According to the index’ website, “economies are ranked on their ease of doing business, from 1 – 185.”

A high ranking on the index means “the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm.”

Bad performance

Pakistan performed worse off, compared to 2012, on almost all indicators and benchmarks used to formulate the index.

The country fared poorly on ease of businesses receiving an electricity connection and trading across borders, compared to last year.

It received the lowest rank, 171, on getting electricity. While it takes 206 days to get an electricity connection in Pakistan, the South Asian average is 148 days.

The index measures ease on the following benchmarks: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency.