Doing Business

From family-owned restaurants to global corporations, businesses play an important role in reducing poverty by boosting employment and spurring economic growth. So, naturally, it's in every country's interest to promote entrepreneurship and a healthy business environment. But often factors such as poor governance, corruption, and restrictive policies pose obstacles to successfully starting and running a business.

The World Bank's annual Doing Business report takes a look at many of the issues involved in business—licensing, employment, taxes, trade, contract enforcement, closing—to give each country a grade on business friendliness.

Who's Doing Better Than Who?

Countries can compete in many ways that are more subtle than soccer games and beauty pageants. Reports such as Doing Business enable them to evaluate their performance versus other countries, and see what works. In fact, as a result of the report, many governments now compete with each other for better rankings.

The Business of Doing Business

Have you ever thought about starting your own business? Do you have what it takes to be a business owner? Online tests imply there are those more likely to be successful business owners than others. Do you know a young entrepreneur? Who are they and what do they do? Can you be entrepreneurial without owning a business?

Check out the helpful links in the Learn More box for more information.

Did You Know … ?

• Singapore is #1 for ease of doing business.
• If you're in a hurry to get started, Canada is a good place to be; it takes only 3 days to launch.
• On the other hand, if you live in Guinea-Bissau, prepare for a 233-day wait before you can get started.
• In Belarus, paying all your business taxes means paying 186% of your gross profit.
• Georgia was the top reformer last year, with a 55% percent increase in the number of businesses registered between 2005 and 2006.
• Japan is the best place for a business to go bankrupt.
• South Asia is the region with the least rigid working hours.
• For ease of doing business, Pakistan, Mexico, and Namibia rank higher than Italy, Russia, and Turkey.
• A poor business environment usually hits smaller and informal firms the hardest.

Check out the Doing Business site to learn more about your country's business environment and how it compares to other economies around the world.

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