Enforcing Contracts

This topic looks at the efficiency of contract enforcement by following the evolution of a sale of goods dispute and tracking the time, cost and number of procedures involved from the moment the plaintiff files the lawsuit until actual payment.

The data appearing on this page was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small to medium-sized domestic business in 183 economies. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2011.

= Subnational Doing Business data available.

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Download this year's topic chapter. This material is not included in the Doing Business 2012 report.

The time to resolve a dispute, counted from the moment the plaintiff files the lawsuit in court until payment. This includes both the days when actions take place and the waiting periods between.

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Time (days)

The cost in court fees and attorney fees, where the use of attorneys is mandatory or common, expressed as a percentage of the debt value.

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Cost (% of claim)

The average number of procedures to enforce a contract. The list of procedural steps compiled for each economy traces the chronology of a commercial dispute before the relevant court.

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Procedures (number)
East Asia & Pacific51947.837
Eastern Europe & Central Asia41227.337
Latin America & Caribbean70831.240
Middle East & North Africa65823.644
OECD high income51819.731
South Asia1,07527.243
Sub-Saharan Africa65550.039
Afghanistan1,64225.047
Albania39035.739
Algeria63021.945
Angola1,01144.446
Antigua and Barbuda35122.745
Argentina59016.536
Armenia44019.049
Australia39521.828
Austria39718.025
Azerbaijan23718.539
Bahamas, The42728.949
Bahrain63514.748
Bangladesh1,44263.341
Belarus27523.429
Belgium50517.726
Belize89227.551
Benin79564.742
Bhutan2250.147
Bolivia59133.240
Bosnia and Herzegovina59540.437
Botswana62528.128
Brazil73116.545
Brunei Darussalam54036.647
Bulgaria56423.839
Burkina Faso44681.737
Burundi83238.644
Cambodia401103.444
Cameroon80046.643
Canada57022.336
Cape Verde42519.837
Central African Republic66082.043
Chad74345.741
Chile48028.636
China
Subnational Data
40611.134
Colombia
Subnational Data
1,34647.934
Comoros50689.443
Congo, Dem. Rep.610151.843
Congo, Rep.56053.244
Costa Rica85224.340
Côte d'Ivoire77041.733
Croatia56113.838
Cyprus73516.443
Czech Republic61133.027
Denmark41023.335
Djibouti1,22534.040
Dominica68136.047
Dominican Republic46040.934
Ecuador58827.239
Egypt, Arab Rep.1,01026.241
El Salvador78619.234
Equatorial Guinea55318.540
Eritrea40522.639
Estonia42522.335
Ethiopia62015.237
Fiji39738.934
Finland37513.333
France33117.429
Gabon1,07034.338
Gambia, The43437.933
Georgia28529.936
Germany39414.430
Ghana48723.036
Greece81914.439
Grenada68832.647
Guatemala1,45926.531
Guinea27645.049
Guinea-Bissau1,71525.040
Guyana58125.236
Haiti53042.635
Honduras92035.247
Hong Kong SAR, China28021.226
Hungary39515.035
Iceland4178.227
India
Subnational Data
1,42039.646
Indonesia570122.740
Iran, Islamic Rep.50517.039
Iraq52028.151
Ireland65026.921
Israel89025.335
Italy1,21029.941
Jamaica65545.635
Japan36032.230
Jordan68931.238
Kazakhstan39022.036
Kenya
Subnational Data
46547.240
Kiribati66025.832
Korea, Rep.23010.333
Kosovo42061.253
Kuwait56618.850
Kyrgyz Republic26029.038
Lao PDR44331.642
Latvia36923.127
Lebanon72130.837
Lesotho78519.540
Liberia1,28035.041
Lithuania27523.630
Luxembourg3219.726
Macedonia, FYR37031.137
Madagascar87142.438
Malawi31294.142
Malaysia42527.529
Maldives66516.541
Mali62052.036
Marshall Islands47627.436
Mauritania37023.246
Mauritius64517.436
Mexico
Subnational Data
41532.038
Micronesia, Fed. Sts.88566.034
Moldova35228.630
Mongolia31430.632
Montenegro54525.749
Morocco
Subnational Data
51025.240
Mozambique730142.530
Namibia27035.833
Nepal91026.839
Netherlands51423.926
New Zealand21622.430
Nicaragua40926.837
Niger54559.639
Nigeria
Subnational Data
45732.040
Norway2809.934
Oman59813.551
Pakistan
Subnational Data
97623.846
Palau81035.338
Panama68650.031
Papua New Guinea591110.342
Paraguay59130.038
Peru42835.741
Philippines84226.037
Poland83012.037
Portugal54713.031
Puerto Rico (U.S.) 62025.639
Qatar57021.643
Romania51228.931
Russian Federation28113.436
Rwanda23078.724
Samoa45519.744
São Tomé and Príncipe 1,18550.543
Saudi Arabia63527.543
Senegal78026.543
Serbia63531.336
Seychelles91515.437
Sierra Leone515149.539
Singapore15025.821
Slovak Republic56530.032
Slovenia1,29012.732
Solomon Islands45578.937
South Africa60033.229
Spain51517.239
Sri Lanka1,31822.840
St. Kitts and Nevis57820.547
St. Lucia63537.347
St. Vincent and the Grenadines39430.345
Sudan81019.853
Suriname1,71537.144
Swaziland97256.140
Sweden50831.230
Switzerland39024.032
Syrian Arab Republic87229.355
Taiwan, China51017.745
Tajikistan43025.535
Tanzania46214.338
Thailand47912.336
Timor-Leste1,285163.251
Togo58847.541
Tonga35030.537
Trinidad and Tobago1,34033.542
Tunisia56521.839
Turkey42027.936
Uganda49044.938
Ukraine34341.530
United Arab Emirates53726.249
United Kingdom39924.828
United States30014.432
Uruguay72019.041
Uzbekistan19522.242
Vanuatu43056.030
Venezuela, RB51043.730
Vietnam29528.534
West Bank and Gaza54021.244
Yemen, Rep.52016.536
Zambia47138.735
Zimbabwe410113.138

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