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