South Africa

Ease of Doing Business in

South Africa

This page shows summary Doing Business 2012 data for South Africa. 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 Sub-Saharan Africa
Income Category Upper middle income
Population 49,962,243
GNI Per Capita (US$) 6,100.00
Doing Business 2012 Rank Doing Business 2011 Rank Change in Rank
35 36 down 1
Topic Rankings DB 2012 Rank DB 2011 Rank Change in Rank
Starting a Business 44 74 up 30
Dealing with Construction Permits 31 31 No change
Getting Electricity 124 122 up -2
Registering Property 76 90 up 14
Getting Credit 1 1 No change
Protecting Investors 10 10 No change
Paying Taxes 44 18 up -26
Trading Across Borders 144 146 up 2
Enforcing Contracts 81 85 up 4
Resolving Insolvency 77 79 up 2

Economy Profile

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Starting a Business

Info

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 44 DB 2011 Rank 74 Change in Rank up30
Indicator South Africa Sub-Saharan Africa 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)
5 8 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)
19 37 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)
0.3 81.2 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)
0.0 129.8 14.1
No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Lodge formation documentation with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) for registration 5-7 days ZAR 175
2 Open a bank account 1-2 days no charge
3 Register with the office of the local receiver of revenue (SARS) for income tax, VAT, and employee withholding tax (PAYE and SITE). 12 days no charge
* 4 Register with the Department of Labor for Unemployment Insurance. 4 days, simultaneous with Procedure 4 no charge
* 5 Register with the Comissioner according to the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act. Around 10 days, simultaneous with Procedure 4 no charge
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.

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