Starting a Business

This topic identifies the bureaucratic and legal hurdles an entrepreneur must overcome to incorporate and register a new firm.  It examines the procedures, time, and cost involved in launching a commercial or industrial firm with up to 50 employees and start-up capital of 10 times the economy's per-capita gross national income (GNI).

The table below shows the main indicators. They include:
  • all procedures required to register a firm,
  • average time spent during each procedure,
  • official cost of each procedure, and
  • the minimum capital required as a percentage of income per capita.
To see starting a business details for a specific economy, use the dropdown box on the right or click on the links below.  Click on column headers to sort data.

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Research

The Regulation of Entry (PDF, 131KB), by Djankov and others, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Feb. 2002.
Region or EconomyProcedures (number)Time (days)Cost (% of income per capita)Min. capital (% of income per capita)
Latin America & Caribbean9.561.736.62.9
OECD5.713.04.715.5
East Asia & Pacific8.141.025.821.3
Eastern Europe & Central Asia6.717.48.321.5
South Asia7.328.127.026.9
Middle East & North Africa7.920.734.1129.7
Sub-Saharan Africa9.445.699.7144.7
Afghanistan4730.20.0
Antigua and Barbuda8219.60.0
Armenia6152.60.0
Australia220.80.0
Azerbaijan6102.90.0
Bahamas, the7318.50.0
Bangladesh74436.20.0
Belarus561.70.0
Bhutan8468.00.0
Botswana10612.10.0
Brazil161206.90.0
Burundi1132151.60.0
Canada150.40.0
Chile9276.90.0
Colombia92012.80.0
Congo, Dem. Rep.13149391.00.0
Costa Rica126020.00.0
Cyprus6813.30.0
Dominica51422.60.0
Egypt, Arab Rep.6716.10.0
Fiji84625.30.0
Gambia, the827215.10.0
Georgia333.70.0
Grenada62024.60.0
Guyana83432.80.0
Ireland4130.30.0
Israel5344.20.0
Jamaica685.30.0
Kenya123436.50.0
Korea, Rep.81414.70.0
Kyrgyz Republic3115.20.0
Lao PDR710012.30.0
Liberia52052.90.0
Macedonia, FYR442.50.0
Madagascar277.10.0
Malawi1039108.00.0
Marshall Islands51716.20.0
Mauritius564.10.0
Micronesia, Fed. Sts.716136.90.0
Mozambique102619.30.0
Namibia106620.40.0
Nepal73153.60.0
New Zealand110.40.0
Nicaragua639111.70.0
Nigeria83176.70.0
Pakistan10205.80.0
Panama61210.30.0
Papua New Guinea85620.50.0
Paraguay73556.70.0
Peru94124.50.0
Puerto Rico770.70.0
Rwanda2310.10.0
Samoa599.90.0
São Tomé and Principe1014481.70.0
Saudi Arabia457.70.0
Seychelles9387.30.0
Sierra Leone612118.80.0
Singapore330.70.0
Solomon Islands75752.70.0
Sri Lanka4385.90.0
St. Kitts and Nevis84511.90.0
St. Lucia51421.80.0
St. Vincent and the Grenadines71121.00.0
Sudan103636.00.0
Taiwan, China6233.90.0
Tanzania122936.80.0
Thailand7326.30.0
Tonga4258.20.0
Trinidad and Tobago9430.70.0
Tunisia10115.70.0
Uganda182584.40.0
United Arab Emirates8156.20.0
United Kingdom6130.70.0
United States660.70.0
Uruguay116540.00.0
Vanuatu83942.00.0
Venezuela, R.B.1614124.00.0
Vietnam115013.30.0
Yemen, Rep.61283.00.0
Zimbabwe1096499.50.0
Japan8237.50.0
Hong Kong, China361.80.0
South Africa6225.90.0
Dominican Republic81917.30.0
France570.90.0
Germany9184.70.0
Brunei Darussalam181169.80.0
Malaysia91111.90.0
Montenegro12132.60.0
Belize94450.60.0
Albania5517.00.0
Swaziland136133.90.5
Suriname13694112.80.7
Iran, Islamic Rep.793.90.8
Romania6102.90.9
Zambia61828.41.3
Russian Federation9302.71.8
Bolivia155099.22.5
El Salvador81738.72.9
Argentina152711.02.9
Maldives5910.04.0
Philippines155228.25.5
Serbia7137.16.1
Finland3140.97.2
Mexico81311.78.9
Turkey6614.29.5
Italy61017.99.7
Tajikistan122524.39.9
Hungary448.010.2
Ecuador136437.710.6
Moldova8107.011.4
Palau8284.311.6
Morocco61216.111.8
Lesotho74027.011.9
Equatorial Guinea20136100.412.4
Spain104715.012.8
Croatia7228.413.4
Ghana83326.413.4
Kazakhstan7204.813.4
Uzbekistan71511.213.8
Latvia5162.114.2
Poland63217.915.3
Iceland553.015.8
Honduras131447.317.3
Norway571.918.7
Belgium345.319.4
Jordan81349.519.9
Luxembourg6241.819.9
Kiribati62138.020.5
Bulgaria4181.720.7
Greece151910.921.4
Haiti13195227.922.4
Estonia571.723.2
Guatemala112945.423.5
Slovak Republic6162.023.8
Switzerland6202.026.4
Gabon95817.826.5
Sweden3150.628.5
Angola868151.129.0
Bosnia and Herzegovina126015.829.8
Iraq117775.930.3
Czech Republic8159.230.5
Algeria142412.131.0
Lithuania7262.431.1
Portugal666.433.5
Cambodia985138.436.6
Denmark460.038.6
Cape Verde92417.038.9
Slovenia360.043.3
Mongolia7133.044.0
Netherlands6105.649.4
Lebanon5978.251.0
Austria8285.152.0
Qatar667.159.0
Kuwait13351.059.2
Indonesia96026.059.7
Congo, Rep.103786.596.5
China14374.9130.9
Ukraine10275.8153.5
Kosovo95243.3169.5
Cameroon1234121.1182.9
Bahrain790.5195.2
Timor-Leste10834.1202.9
Côte d'Ivoire1040133.3204.9
Senegal4863.7206.9
India133066.1210.9
West Bank and Gaza114955.0220.4
Comoros1124182.1261.8
Oman5122.2273.6
Benin731155.5290.8
Eritrea138476.5297.0
Mali71589.2334.6
Chad1975176.7369.3
Burkina Faso41450.3428.2
Mauritania91934.7450.4
Guinea1341139.2489.7
Ethiopia5918.9492.4
Djibouti1137195.1500.5
Central African Republic822244.9507.1
Togo775205.0514.0
Niger917118.7613.7
Guinea-Bissau16213323.0779.9
Syrian Arab Republic71727.81,012.5