Download Data

Download Women, Business and the Law datasets, from the latest release to historical and thematic datasets across multiple years and topics.

Women, Business and the Law Data

The datasets on this page are organized into tabs, giving access to the latest Women, Business and the Law dataset for the current reporting year, as well as historical, topic-specific, and thematic research datasets.

WBL 2026 Data

The WBL 2026 dataset is available in Excel and Stata formats and covers 190 economies across 10 topics, providing data on legal frameworks, supportive frameworks, and enforcement perceptions. A reproducibility package with code and documentation is available to support transparent analysis and replication. The Women, Business and the Law 2026 edition also includes data recalculated using the WBL 1.0 methodology, extending the historical series and enabling consistent comparisons over time.

Reproducibility Package

Reproducibility packages for the WBL 2026 data construction and the WBL 2026 Report are available in the World Bank Reproducible Research Repository. Access links below. 

WBL 2026 1.0

The Women, Business and the Law 2026 edition data recalculated using the WBL 1.0 methodology

Historical Data

 

Women, Business and the Law 1.0 Data for 1971-2024

The Women, Business and the Law 2024 data cover 190 economies across 10 topics, providing data on legal frameworks, supportive frameworks, and enforcement opinions. 

Women, Business and the Law 2024 Data

Discover WBL 2024 through comprehensive data encompassing legal frameworks, supportive frameworks, and expert opinions. Delve into new areas of safety and childcare with detailed information

Data by WBL Topic

Data is organized across 10 topics—Safety, Mobility, Work, Pay, Marriage, Parenthood, Childcare, Entrepreneurship, Assets, and Pensions—highlighting laws, policies, and enforcement perceptions that shape women’s economic opportunities.

Data by Research Topic

These datasets offer deeper insights into specific themes and country contexts. They include data on: pilot research related to the implementation of laws, national financial inclusion strategies, legal frameworks affecting the rights of women with disabilities, and subnational data for Nigeria and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

National Financial Inclusion Strategies

Explore a dataset on the emerging trends in national financial inclusion strategies that support women’s entrepreneurship in 190 economies. Fifty-two economies worldwide had valid financial inclusion strategies in force as of June 30, 2022. Also, an increasing number of financial inclusion strategies are now highlighting the need to promote women’s financial inclusion. This research was conducted in collaboration with CGAP based on data collected with the help of Women, Business, and the Law’s network of local experts.

The Rights of Women with Disabilities

Explore a data set on the Rights of Women with Disabilities in 190 economies. The 11 non-scored questions explore how laws include or exclude women with disabilities from accessing economic opportunities. The research was designed in collaboration with disability rights experts and data was collected with the help of Women, Business and the Law’s network of local legal experts.

Tackling Legal and Policy Barriers at the Local Level

The World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law produces in-depth studies capturing differences on how laws, regulations, and policies affect women’s economic opportunities and private sector development within a single economy. By collecting data from various regions, these studies provide subnational data that inform legal and policy reform across all levels of government.

Measuring the Legal Environment in Practice

Following pilot studies in 2022 and 2023, Women, Business and the Law 2.0 (WBL 2.0) now covers 190 economies. It measures women’s economic inclusion across three pillars: legal frameworks (laws), supportive frameworks (implementation policies), and expert opinions on women’s outcomes.

Citing WBL Data

Learn how to cite Women, Business and the Law data in different contexts.

Resources