India has secured the first rank for business climate among 41 global markets in the Global Business Climate Survey 2026, ahead of Ireland in second place and Vietnam in third. The Global Business Climate Survey 2026 was released on 11 June 2026 and is based on responses from more than 2,250 senior executives of Swedish companies operating abroad. The result shows that Swedish firms working in India hold the most positive view of the local business environment in the world, even as the wider global business environment turns cautious.
What Is Business Climate and Business Climate Index?
Business climate means how easy or difficult companies find it to operate and grow in a market. It covers demand, rules, costs, infrastructure and policy stability. The business climate index is the score, usually on a 1 to 5 scale, that sums up these company ratings into one comparable number.
In simple terms, business climate is the lived experience of firms on the ground. It is different from growth numbers alone. A country can grow fast on paper, yet firms may still struggle with permits, taxes, customs delays or labour rules. The Global Business Climate Survey 2026 captures this ground reality by asking company leaders directly how they rate conditions in the market where they work.
The related ideas of investment climate and economic climate are close but not identical. Investment climate focuses more narrowly on conditions for putting fresh money into a country, such as protection for investors, ease of entry and exit, and profit repatriation. Economic climate is broader and refers to the overall health of the economy, such as growth, inflation and jobs. Business climate sits between the two, as it reflects how the wider economy feels to a company trying to run daily operations, sell products and earn profit.
Global Business Climate Survey 2026: Who Conducts It and How
The Global Business Climate Survey 2026 is jointly produced by Business Sweden, the Swedish Chambers of Commerce (SCI) and Sweden’s embassies and consulates. Business Sweden, formally called the Swedish Trade and Invest Council, was formed on 1 January 2013 through the merger of the Swedish Trade Council and Invest Sweden. The body is jointly owned by the Swedish state, represented by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and Swedish industry, represented by the Swedish Foreign Trade Association. The headquarters of Business Sweden is located in Stockholm, and the organisation works in more than 40 markets worldwide.
In India, the work is carried out by Team Sweden in India, which brings together Business Sweden, the Swedish Chamber of Commerce India, the Embassy of Sweden in New Delhi and the Consulate General in Mumbai. Team Sweden as a national concept was launched by the Swedish government in 2015 to coordinate export and investment support for Swedish firms. The same Team Sweden model operates in each surveyed country, which keeps the questions and method comparable across markets.
The 2026 edition is the largest so far. The Global Business Climate Survey 2026 covers 41 markets across four regions, namely Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific (APAC) and Middle East and Africa plus (MEA+). Five markets were added for the first time in 2026, which are Argentina, Ireland, Kenya, Nigeria and Slovakia. The survey collected answers from more than 2,250 senior decision makers in Swedish and Sweden linked companies. Company leaders rated the business climate on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 means very poor, 3 means neutral and 5 means very good. The global average score in 2026 stood at 3.3, and 80 per cent of respondents rated conditions as neutral or better, which points to cautious optimism rather than strong cheer.
India Ease of Doing Business Ranking: First Among 41 Markets
The Global Business Climate Survey 2026 places India at the first rank for business climate favourability among Swedish companies. Ireland, which entered the survey as a new market in 2026, secured the second rank. Vietnam stood third, after a sharp rise from the eleventh position in 2025. Poland and Denmark completed the top five, with Poland showing clear improvement over the previous year.
The table below summarises the headline ranking and movement reported in the 2026 survey.
| Rank in 2026 | Market | What the survey shows |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | Highest rated business climate, retained place in global top three |
| 2 | Ireland | Strong new entrant, backed by profitable operations in Europe |
| 3 | Vietnam | Jumped from 11th in 2025 on growth and investor confidence |
| 4 to 5 | Poland and Denmark | Noted as attractive markets with improved scores |
| Bottom markets | Slovakia, Germany and Thailand | Each scored below 3, with Slovakia close to 2.0 in its debut year |
The regional picture helps explain the India ease of doing business ranking in context. APAC remains the most optimistic region, with India and Vietnam leading on perception and growth hopes. Europe shows strong profit levels, with nearly 70 per cent of firms in Europe reporting profit for 2025. The Americas show the strongest hopes for higher sales, while MEA+ has turned more cautious. Saudi Arabia, which was among the top markets for two straight years, saw the share of firms with a positive view fall from 90 per cent in 2025 to 44 per cent in 2026.
At the global level, 64 per cent of Swedish companies reported profitable operations in foreign markets. About 65 per cent expect industry turnover to rise in the next 12 months. Around 44 per cent plan to raise investments, slightly lower than 45 per cent in 2025, mainly due to slower plans in the Americas. At market level, the highest turnover hopes are in India, the Philippines and Poland, while the strongest investment intent is in South Africa, the Philippines and India.
How Swedish Companies Performed in India
The India results come from the separate Business Climate Survey India 2026, which feeds into the global comparison. Team Sweden in India contacted 263 companies in February and March 2026 and received replies from 213 companies, a response rate of 81 per cent. Most respondents have worked in India for more than five years, and industrial firms form the largest group, followed by professional services and consumer goods firms. About 300 Swedish companies are active in India (as of September 2026).
Financial performance in India remained solid. Around 68 per cent of Swedish firms in India reported profit for 2025, while 14 per cent reported break even and 8 per cent reported loss. Profit was higher among large and long established firms. About 78 per cent of large firms and 85 per cent of mature firms reported profit, compared with only 37 per cent of newcomers. By sector, 77 per cent of industrial firms were profitable, against 54 per cent in the consumer segment.
Future plans in India are more optimistic than the global average. About 83 per cent of firms in India expect industry turnover to rise in the coming year, the joint highest in the world along with the Philippines. About 61 per cent plan to increase investments in the next 12 months, while 30 per cent expect no change and only 2 per cent expect a cut. The consumer sector leads this intent, with 83 per cent of consumer firms planning higher investment and 92 per cent expecting higher turnover, driven by rising incomes and an expanding middle class.
Perception of the Indian business climate is also strong. About 73 per cent of firms rated the Indian business climate as good or very good, while only 4 per cent rated it as poor or very poor. This is slightly lower than 77 per cent in 2025, but the survey notes that the change reflects a move toward a neutral view rather than a rise in negative views. Firms named cost efficiency (58 per cent) as the top success factor in India, followed by product development (42 per cent) and sales competence (34 per cent). Long term commitment and local partnerships were also rated as important. On challenges, companies pointed to administrative complexity, licensing steps, customs rules and trade barriers, even as they praised personal safety, access to suppliers and access to service providers.
Why India Tops the Global Business Environment Ranking
The Global Business Climate Survey 2026 describes India as the world’s fastest growing major economy and a resilient growth market. Swedish firms point to four clear demand drivers. These are a large and growing consumer base, steady industrialisation, rapid digital change and large public spending on infrastructure. Together, these factors create sales volume today and a pipeline of orders for industrial equipment, transport gear, energy systems and professional services in the coming years.
Trade ties add weight to this confidence. Bilateral trade in goods and services between Sweden and India reached about $8.4 billion in 2025, more than double the level in 2019. Since 2020, Swedish firms have invested a cumulative $2.8 billion in India across a range of projects, supporting more than 21,000 direct jobs. Sweden ranks as the eighth largest investor among European Union (EU) member states in India, and India is among the top Swedish investment destinations in the Asia Pacific by project count.
A major policy boost is the India EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA). An FTA is a pact in which two sides cut tariffs and ease rules to increase trade and investment. India and the EU, which first started talks in 2007, suspended them in 2013 and restarted them in 2022, announced the conclusion of negotiations on 27 January 2026 at the 16th India EU Summit in New Delhi. The pact covers close to 2 billion people and about a quarter of global output, and it is set to be the largest trade deal signed by either side. Over 99 per cent of Indian exports by value are expected to get preferential entry into the EU, with large gains for labour heavy sectors such as textiles, leather, marine products and gems and jewellery. Entry into force is expected in early 2027 after legal checks and ratification. In the India survey, a clear majority of Swedish firms said the FTA would help their business in India within two years of operation, with 39 per cent expecting a strongly positive effect and 34 per cent expecting a moderately positive effect.
How This Survey Differs From the Ease of Doing Business Index
Readers often mix this Swedish survey with the World Bank’s ease of doing business index, but the two are different exercises. Ease of doing business, often shortened to EODB, is a term for how simple it is to start and run a firm under official rules. The World Bank tracked it through the Doing Business Report from 2002 until the report was discontinued in September 2021 after concerns over data handling. In the last report, based on 2019 data, India stood at rank 63 out of 190 economies, up from 142 in 2014, a climb of 79 places in five years.
The World Bank has now replaced that system with Business Ready (B-Ready). B-Ready assesses more than 180 economies on ten topics across the life of a firm, which are business entry, business location, utility services, labour, financial services, international trade, taxation, dispute resolution, market competition and business insolvency. It scores each economy on three pillars, namely regulatory framework, public services and operational efficiency, and places economies in performance groups instead of giving a single headline rank. India is part of the third B-Ready round, with data collection from firms and experts starting in 2025 and the report expected in late 2026.
| Feature | Global Business Climate Survey 2026 | World Bank B-Ready |
|---|---|---|
| Released by | Business Sweden with Swedish Chambers and embassies | World Bank Group |
| What it measures | How Swedish firms feel about conditions in 41 markets | Quality of rules and services for all firms in 180 plus economies |
| Method | Direct opinion survey of executives on 1 to 5 scale | Mix of laws, official data and firm surveys across ten topics |
| Ranking style | Direct country ranking, India first in 2026 | No single rank, group wise scores by pillar and topic |
| Use for India | Shows investor mood and expansion intent | Will give a full regulatory check once the 2026 report is out |
This difference matters. The Swedish top rank for India does not mean India has topped a World Bank list. It means Swedish investors on the ground rate India most favourably among the 41 markets they work in. For a full picture of India ease of doing business ranking in the official sense, the coming B-Ready results will need to be read along with this mood based survey.
The Way Forward
The Global Business Climate Survey 2026 suggests that confidence in India is firm but future gains will depend on easing day to day hurdles. Swedish firms have flagged corporate taxation, licensing steps, customs procedures and labour market rules as areas that need simpler and more predictable action. Faster clearances, stable tax practice and smoother port and customs handling would help convert the current turnover optimism into fresh factory and service investment.
Two milestones will shape the next reading of business climate in India. The first is the completion of the India EU FTA process, with legal revision and ratification now underway and entry into force expected in early 2027. The second is the release of India’s B-Ready assessment in late 2026, which will give a detailed scorecard on entry, utilities, trade, tax and dispute settlement. If progress on these two tracks lines up with strong demand and infrastructure build out, India can retain its lead among Swedish investors and widen its edge over peers such as Vietnam and Ireland.
Key Takeaways
- India secured first rank among 41 markets in the Global Business Climate Survey 2026, with Ireland second and Vietnam third.
- The Global Business Climate Survey 2026 was released on 11 June 2026 by Business Sweden with the Swedish Chambers and embassies, covering over 2,250 executives.
- In India, 68 per cent of Swedish firms reported profit in 2025, 83 per cent expect higher turnover and 61 per cent plan higher investment.
- The India survey covered 213 of 263 firms in February and March 2026, with 73 per cent rating the business climate as good or very good.
- India and the EU concluded FTA talks on 27 January 2026, a pact covering 2 billion people with entry into force expected in early 2027.
