Poland's disastrous position in the global ranking. “There is still a lot of room for improvement”

In the latest edition of the global TMF Global Business Complexity Index 2026 report, Poland's position has improved slightly, but its ratings are still far from good. It jumped from fifth place last year to sixth place in Europe. It fared better than Greece, France, Italy, Belgium and Ukraine, but definitely worse than its neighbors – the Czech Republic and Germany. However, Malta and Denmark are among the world's most business-friendly countries.
See also: There are more companies in Poland than ever before, but it's not rosy everywhere
Barriers to business development in Poland
When creating the annual ranking, TMF Group analyzes 292 indicators relating to key aspects of doing business in a given country – from accounting and tax regulations through labor law to the management of legal entities. In this specific ranking, the further a country ranks, the better, because at the top of the list are the countries where entrepreneurs operate in the most hostile environment. Poland is at such a disgraceful forefront, both in the world and in Europe.
“Last year it was even worse – Poland was 15th globally. We also slightly improved our position in Europe, jumping from fifth to sixth,” reports “Puls Biznesu”.
See also: Things are going wrong. Europe is being hit by a historic wave of bankruptcies. “The risk is high right now.”
The main obstacle to developing a business in Poland is bureaucracy – complicated regulations, extensive administrative obligations, the need to submit many reports and repeat the same information in statutory documents. An additional barrier for potential entrepreneurs was the obligation to keep part of the documentation in Polish. This year, the better position in the ranking was due to the digitization of administrative processes and the government's active legislative policy aimed at simplifying regulations.
“We are observing real progress in simplifying the regulatory environment in Poland, mainly in the area of digitization. Digitization of processes is becoming a noticeable relief for companies, especially those operating on many markets at the same time. […] But we must be honest: there is still a lot of room for improvement,” Joanna Romańczuk, director of TMF Group for Northern Europe, told “PB”.




