Bahamas, The

Ease of Doing Business in

Bahamas, The

This page shows summary Doing Business 2012 data for the Bahamas. The first table lists the overall "Ease of Doing Business" rank (out of 183 economies) and the rankings by each topic. The rest of the tables summarize the key indicators for each topic and benchmark against regional and high-income economy (OECD) averages.

Economy Overview

Region Latin America & Caribbean
Income Category High income
Population 345,736
GNI Per Capita (US$) 21,879.00
Doing Business 2012 Rank Doing Business 2011 Rank Change in Rank
85 82 down -3
Topic Rankings DB 2012 Rank DB 2011 Rank Change in Rank
Starting a Business 73 65 up -8
Dealing with Construction Permits 79 75 up -4
Getting Electricity 105 101 up -4
Registering Property 177 175 up -2
Getting Credit 78 75 up -3
Protecting Investors 111 108 up -3
Paying Taxes 56 50 up -6
Trading Across Borders 48 49 up 1
Enforcing Contracts 123 120 up -3
Resolving Insolvency 34 34 No change

Economy Profile

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Starting a Business

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The challenges of launching a business are shown below. Included are: the number of steps entrepreneurs can expect to go through to launch, the time it takes on average, and the cost and minimum capital required as a percentage of gross national income (GNI) per capita.

DB 2012 Rank 73 DB 2011 Rank 65 Change in Rank down-8
Indicator Bahamas, The Latin America & Caribbean OECD

The total number of procedures required to register a firm. A procedure is defined as any interaction of the company founders with external parties (for example, government agencies, lawyers, auditors or notaries).

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Procedures (number)
7 9 5

The total number of days required to register a firm. The measure captures the median duration that incorporation lawyers indicate is necessary to complete a procedure with minimum follow-up with government agencies and no extra payments.

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Time (days)
31 54 12

Cost is recorded as a percentage of the economy’s income per capita. It includes all official fees and fees for legal or professional services if such services are required by law.

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Cost (% of income per capita)
8.7 37.3 4.7

The amount that the entrepreneur needs to deposit in a bank or with a notary before registration and up to 3 months following incorporation and is recorded as a percentage of the economy’s income per capita.

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Paid-in Min. Capital (% of income per capita)
0.0 4.3 14.1
No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Search for a Company name and reserve the proposed name online 1 day no charge (included in proceduer 2)
2 A lawyer prepares and notarizes the company documents (memorandum and articles of association). 1-2 days BSD 500-800
3 A stamp duty has to be obtained from the Public Treasury for the Memorandum. 1 day BSD 100 stamp duty is payable on the first BSD 5,000 authorized capital of the company and BSD 3 for every additional BSD 1,000 authorized capital
4 File the company documents at the Companies Registry 10-11 days BSD 300 for the Memorundum+ BSD 30 for the Articles of Association + BSD 4 for a copy of the Memorundum and the Articles.
5 Obtain the National Insurance Number for the Company from the National Insurance Board 1 day no charge
6 Register the company for a business license at the Valuation/Business License Department of the Ministry of Finance. 2-3weeks BSD 100 (flat fee)
* 7 Company Seal 2-3 days (simultaneous with previous procedure) BSD 35
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.

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