The World Bank has just published “Doing Business 2019”. It is the 16th in a series of annual reports investigating the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it across 190 countries. Regulations affecting 11 areas of the life of a business are covered:
• starting a business,
• dealing with construction permits,
• getting electricity,
• registering property,
• getting credit,
• protecting minority investors,
• paying taxes,
• trading across borders,
• enforcing contracts,
• resolving insolvency
The data in Doing Business 2019 are current as of May 1, 2018.
The economies with the most notable improvement in Doing Business 2019 are Afghanistan, Djibouti, China, Azerbaijan, India, Togo, Kenya, Côte d’Ivoire, Turkey and Rwanda.
One-third of all business regulatory reforms recorded by Doing Business 2019 were in the economies of Sub-Saharan Africa.
The BRIC economies—Brazil, the Russian Federation, India and China—introduced a total of 21 reforms, with getting electricity and trading across borders the most common areas of improvement.
The top 10 economies in the ease of doing business ranking are:
1. New Zealand
2. Singapore
3. Denmark
4. Hong Kong
5. Korea (Rep)
6. Georgia
7. Norway
8. US
9. UK
10. Macedonia FYR