Closing a Business

This topic identifies weaknesses in existing bankruptcy law and the main procedural and administrative bottlenecks in the bankruptcy process.

The table below shows the main indicators. They include:
  • average time to complete a procedure,
  • cost of the bankruptcy proceedings, and
  • the recovery rate, which calculates how many cents on the dollar claimants (creditors, tax authorities, and employees) recover from an insolvent firm.
"No practice" means that there have been less than 60 completed insolvency cases in the past 20 years. Click on column headers to sort data.

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Research

Debt Enforcement Around the World (PDF, 216 KB), by Djankov and others, Journal of Political Economy, Dec 2008.
Region or EconomyRecovery rate (cents on the dollar)Time (years)Cost (% of estate)
Sub-Saharan Africa17.03.420.1
South Asia20.44.56.5
Latin America & Caribbean26.83.315.9
East Asia & Pacific28.42.723.2
Middle East & North Africa29.93.514.1
Eastern Europe & Central Asia31.62.913.5
OECD68.61.78.4
Afghanistan0.0no practiceno practice
Albania0.0no practiceno practice
Bhutan0.0no practiceno practice
Burundi0.0no practiceno practice
Cambodia0.0no practiceno practice
Cape Verde0.0no practiceno practice
Central African Republic0.04.876
Chad0.0no practiceno practice
Comoros0.0no practiceno practice
Dominica0.0no practiceno practice
Equatorial Guinea0.0no practiceno practice
Eritrea0.0no practiceno practice
Grenada0.0no practiceno practice
Guinea-Bissau0.0no practiceno practice
Iraq0.0no practiceno practice
Kiribati0.0no practiceno practice
Lao PDR0.0no practiceno practice
Madagascar0.0no practiceno practice
Rwanda0.0no practiceno practice
São Tomé and Principe0.0no practiceno practice
Seychelles0.0no practiceno practice
St. Kitts and Nevis0.0no practiceno practice
St. Vincent and the Grenadines0.0no practiceno practice
Sudan0.0no practiceno practice
Timor-Leste0.0no practiceno practice
Trinidad and Tobago0.0no practiceno practice
West Bank and Gaza0.0no practiceno practice
Zimbabwe0.03.322
Haiti2.75.730
Micronesia, Fed. Sts.3.55.338
Philippines4.45.738
Congo, Dem. Rep.5.45.229
Venezuela, R.B.6.04.038
Mauritania6.78.09
Suriname8.15.030
Liberia8.33.043
Sierra Leone8.52.642
Dominican Republic8.93.538
Ukraine9.12.942
Angola10.06.222
United Arab Emirates10.25.130
Indonesia13.75.518
Niger14.05.018
Kyrgyz Republic14.24.015
Samoa14.32.538
India15.17.09
Gabon15.25.015
Mozambique15.25.09
Djibouti15.95.018
Ecuador16.15.318
Benin16.74.022
Egypt, Arab Rep.16.84.222
Brazil17.14.012
Malawi17.52.625
Guyana17.63.029
Marshall Islands17.92.038
Vietnam18.05.015
Maldives18.26.74
Uzbekistan18.74.010
Lebanon19.04.022
Gambia, the19.53.015
Fiji20.11.838
Turkey20.23.315
Congo, Rep.20.43.024
Paraguay20.73.99
Honduras20.83.815
Mali20.93.618
Czech Republic20.96.515
Macedonia, FYR20.92.928
Chile21.34.515
Tanzania21.33.022
Burkina Faso21.74.09
Guinea22.03.88
Mongolia22.04.08
Iran, Islamic Rep.23.14.59
Bangladesh23.24.08
Solomon Islands23.61.038
Ghana24.01.922
Nepal24.55.09
Papua New Guinea24.73.023
Tonga25.22.722
Serbia25.42.723
Costa Rica25.43.515
Tajikistan25.43.09
Peru25.43.17
Cameroon25.53.215
Togo26.63.015
Jordan27.34.39
Georgia27.93.34
Nigeria28.02.022
Guatemala28.23.015
Russian Federation28.23.89
Romania28.53.311
Moldova28.62.89
Yemen, Rep.28.63.08
Latvia29.03.013
Syrian Arab Republic29.54.19
Argentina29.82.812
Poland29.83.020
Azerbaijan30.12.78
Zambia30.22.79
Croatia30.53.115
El Salvador30.84.09
Senegal31.63.07
Kenya31.64.522
Bulgaria32.13.39
Ethiopia32.23.015
South Africa32.22.018
Panama32.42.518
Belarus33.45.822
Mauritius33.61.715
Lesotho33.92.68
Côte d'Ivoire34.02.218
Nicaragua34.32.215
Kuwait34.54.21
Swaziland34.92.015
Morocco35.11.818
Oman35.14.04
China35.31.722
Antigua and Barbuda35.53.07
Bosnia and Herzegovina35.93.39
Bolivia37.31.815
Estonia37.53.09
Saudi Arabia37.51.522
Palau38.21.023
Hungary38.42.015
Malaysia38.62.315
Pakistan39.22.84
Namibia39.51.515
Kazakhstan40.61.515
Uganda41.12.230
Vanuatu41.22.638
Algeria41.72.57
Luxembourg41.72.015
Armenia41.81.94
Thailand42.42.736
St. Lucia42.92.09
Uruguay43.02.17
Sri Lanka43.41.75
Montenegro43.72.08
Greece44.22.09
France44.71.99
Israel44.94.023
Slovenia45.52.08
Slovak Republic45.94.018
Switzerland46.83.04
Brunei Darussalam47.22.54
Lithuania49.41.57
Germany52.21.28
Tunisia52.31.37
Qatar52.72.822
Colombia52.83.01
Bahamas, the54.75.04
Puerto Rico55.23.88
Italy56.61.822
Kosovo56.82.015
Botswana60.31.715
Bahrain63.22.510
Belize63.41.023
Mexico64.21.818
Jamaica64.51.118
Portugal69.42.09
Cyprus70.71.515
Austria71.51.118
Spain73.21.015
Sweden75.12.09
New Zealand76.21.34
Iceland76.61.04
United States76.71.57
Australia78.81.08
Hong Kong, China79.81.19
Korea, Rep.80.51.54
Taiwan, China80.91.94
Netherlands82.71.14
United Kingdom84.21.06
Belgium86.30.94
Denmark86.51.14
Ireland86.60.49
Finland87.30.94
Canada88.70.84
Norway89.00.91
Singapore91.30.81
Japan92.50.64