The World Bank will put on hold further publication of its widely-followed “Doing Business” reports after the organization said it will probe irregularities in data collection, according to Reuters.
The reports serve as an independent measurement of a nation’s progress or regression in providing an open, fair, and competitive business environment for businesses and investors. The report ranks countries based on indicators of how their government bureaucracies and regulations affect – and often limit – their attractiveness as destinations for business investment.
The World Bank said it would conduct a systematic review of data changes in the last five Doing Business reports, and independent auditors will probe data collection and review processes, according to Reuters.
“The publication of the Doing Business report will be paused as we conduct our assessment,” the bank said. The World Bank said on Thursday there were “a number of irregularities” reported regarding data changes to the reports published in 2017 and 2019, but did not identify them, according to Reuters.
“The changes in the data were inconsistent with the Doing Business methodology,” the bank said, adding that it would “correct the data of countries that were most affected by the irregularities.”
Over the 17 years of its existence, Doing Business indicators and methodology are “designed with no single country in mind, but rather to help to improve the overall business climate,” the World Bank said.
In the most recent report, Saudi Arabia climbed 30 places to rank 62nd.
