Georgia Moves Up in International Rankings
From 2012 to 2016, Georgia implemented numerous systematic reforms and achieved significant improvements in areas such as human rights (including freedom of speech and freedom of media), transparency, absence of corruption, effective governance, and macro-economic stability. Important measures have also been taken to ensure the independence of the judiciary as well. Successful and efficient implementation of systemic reforms has given Georgia a significantly improved position in various key international rankings:
- The World Bank “Doing Business 2016” -24th (among 189 countries)
- Heritage Foundation “2016 Index of Economic Freedom” -23rd freest economy in the world
- Institute for Economics and Peace “Global Peace Index 2015” -improved position by 20 spots.
- World Justice Project “Open Governance Index” -29th (among 102 countries) and 1st (among the Eastern Europe and Central Asia)
- Transparency International “Corruption Perception Index 2015” -48th
A Business Friendly and Safe Environment
Georgia has been recognized as having one of the most business friendly environments.
The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index 2015–2016 showed that Georgia’s position in Transparency of Government Policy Making has improved by 5 positions in the last 4 years and now Georgia is 31st.
The Fraser Institute’s 2015 Economic Freedom of the World report, which evaluates the Government Consumption and Government Enterprises and Investment, ranked Georgia 12th in the world based on 2013 data, an improvement from Georgia’s 2010 ranking of 29th.
World Justice Project’s Open Governance 2015 index ranked Georgia 29th among 102 countries and 1st among Eastern European and Central Asian countries.
Overall, Georgia’s indicators in the World Bank’s Worldwide Governance Indicator are increasing. Georgia received its highest in all the six categories in 2014 compared to the previous 18 years.
Ease of Doing Business
Georgia has achieved significant success in the terms of the ease of doing business, with dramatically decreased bureaucracy and an investor-friendly environment.
According to the World Bank’s 2016 Doing Business study, Georgia is 24th among 189 countries, putting Georgia ahead of Poland, Switzerland, France, the Netherlands, Spain and Japan. In 2016, Georgia was ranked 4th among 25 European and Central Asian countries. According to the same study, Georgia is in the world’s top ten countries in the following three components: Registering Property (3rd place), Starting a Business (6th place) and Getting Credit (7th place).
In 2016, Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom ranked Georgia 23rd in Business Freedom and Investment Freedom.
Freedom from Corruption
One of the most important indicators of the effectiveness of the state institutions is the control of corruption and established corruption-free bureaucratic institutions. Judicial reform, institutional reform of the prosecutor’s office, openness and transparency of state institutions led to the most improved rankings. According to Transparency International’s 2015 Corruption Perception Index, Georgia was ranked higher than ever before, 48th in the world, and was ranked 1st among 19 Eastern European and Central Asian countries.
Judicial Independence and Effectiveness
All ratings showed an improvement in judicial independence over the last five years. The World Economic Forum ranked Georgia 56th in 2015–16 compared to 91st in 2011–12.
Moreover, Georgia was ranked ahead of some EU member states in terms of Rule of Law.
Law Enforcement Reform
As a result of reform to the law enforcement system, the criminal situation in terms of business protection has significantly improved, which is reflected in lower costs for local businesses as well as attitudes of potential investors.
All ratings show Georgia as one of the safest countries. World Economic Forum named Georgia 14th in Reliability of Police Service and 18th in Business Costs of Crime and Violence.
Overall, Georgia has become a regional champion in terms of reforms, economic development and progress regarding democratic institutions. Georgia has one of the most business supportive governments and is open to international visitors and investors.