Doing Business

Statement of World Bank Group on Discontinuing Doing Business Report

After data irregularities on Doing Business 2018 and 2020 were reported internally in June 2020, World Bank management paused the next Doing Business report and initiated a series of reviews and audits of the report and its methodology. Read the full statement released by the World Bank Group on the Doing Business report.

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Doing Business Data Corrections and Findings of Internal Audit

Review of Data Irregularities: Report prepared by Management of the Development Economics (DEC) Vice-Presidency, the World Bank Group

Management Review of Data Irregularities in the Doing Business Reports from 2016 to 2020: Verification Report

Data Integrity in Production Process of the Doing Business Report: Assurance Review

HIGHLIGHTS

Main findings for Doing Business 2020

Doing Business captures 294 regulatory reforms implemented between May 2018 and May 2019. Worldwide, 115 economies made it easier to do business.

The economies with the most notable improvement in Doing Business 2020 are Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Togo, Bahrain, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Kuwait, China, India and Nigeria. In 2018/19, these countries implemented one-fifth of all the reforms recorded worldwide.

Economies in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean continue to lag in terms of reforms. Only two Sub-Saharan African economies rank in the top 50 on the ease of doing business; no Latin American economies rank in this group.
Doing Business 2020 continues to show a steady convergence between developing and developed economies, especially in the area of business incorporation. Since 2003/04, 178 economies have implemented 722 reforms captured by the starting a business indicator set, either reducing or eliminating barriers to entry.
Those economies that score well on Doing Business tend to benefit from higher levels of entrepreneurial activity and lower levels of corruption.
While economic reasons are the main drivers of reform, the advancement of neighboring economies provides an additional impetus for regulatory change.
Twenty-six economies became less business-friendly, introducing 31 regulatory changes that stifle efficiency and quality of regulation.

Doing Business 2020, a World Bank Group flagship publication, is the 17th in a series of annual studies measuring the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it. Doing Business presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 190 economies—from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe—and over time.

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Doing Business methodology videos

Doing Business provides quantitative indicators covering 10 areas of the business environment. The methodology of each of these indicators is presented in a video format.

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Subnational Doing Business in Brazil 2021

Subnational Doing Business in Brazil 2021 assesses the regulatory environment for small and medium-size enterprises in Brazil’s 26 states and in the Federal District. This study measures business regulations across five areas: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, registering property, paying taxes, and enforcing contracts. In each of these areas, the study highlights good practices and opportunities for improvement. The report also includes two pilot studies, which measure the processes of registering as an individual microbusiness owner (Microempreendedor Individual, MEI) and of paying taxes under the Simples Nacional tax regime in five locations in Brazil.

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The Entrepreneurship Database Project

The Entrepreneurship Database Project compiles data on newly registered limited liability companies in 155 economies of the world over the past 13 years. It also compiles data on female entrepreneurship in 73 economies of the world over the past 5 years. The most recent update was released on December 4, 2019. Data were provided by business registries or by the private sector.