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)Duration (days)Cost (% GNI per capita)Paid in Min. Capital (% of GNI per capita)
East Asia & Pacific8.644.232.337.3
Eastern Europe & Central Asia7.722.68.636.0
Latin America & Caribbean9.764.539.13.4
Middle East & North Africa8.423.541.0331.4
OECD5.813.44.919.7
South Asia7.432.531.90.6
Sub-Saharan Africa10.247.8111.2173.4
Afghanistan4959.50.0
Albania6825.832.3
Algeria142410.836.6
Angola868196.839.1
Antigua and Barbuda82111.60.0
Argentina15329.03.7
Armenia9183.62.3
Australia220.80.0
Austria8285.152.8
Azerbaijan6163.20.0
Bahamas, the7319.80.0
Bahrain790.6210.1
Bangladesh77325.70.0
Belarus8317.812.4
Belgium345.219.9
Belize94451.10.0
Benin731196.0347.0
Bhutan8468.50.0
Bolivia1550112.42.8
Bosnia and Herzegovina126030.836.3
Botswana10782.30.0
Brazil181528.20.0
Brunei181169.20.0
Bulgaria4492.047.8
Burkina Faso51662.3458.8
Burundi1143215.00.0
Cambodia985151.743.9
Cameroon1337137.1188.0
Canada150.50.0
Cape Verde125235.747.5
Central African Republic1014232.3513.9
Chad1975175.0365.1
Chile9277.50.0
China14408.4158.1
Colombia93614.10.0
Comoros1123188.6280.8
Congo, Dem. Rep.13155435.40.0
Congo, Rep.1037106.4131.2
Costa Rica126020.50.0
Côte d'Ivoire1040135.1215.9
Croatia84011.516.6
Czech Republic8159.631.8
Denmark460.040.1
Djibouti1137200.2514.0
Dominica51425.50.0
Dominican Republic81919.40.0
Ecuador146538.512.7
Egypt6718.32.0
El Salvador81749.63.5
Equatorial Guinea20136101.715.4
Eritrea1384102.2396.7
Estonia571.723.7
Ethiopia71629.8693.6
Fiji84625.20.0
Finland3141.07.4
France571.00.0
Gabon95820.330.2
Gambia, the827254.90.0
Georgia334.00.0
Germany9185.642.2
Ghana93432.716.6
Greece151910.219.6
Grenada62030.20.0
Guatemala112650.626.3
Guinea1341135.7476.9
Guinea-Bissau17233257.71,015.0
Guyana84068.40.0
Haiti13195159.626.6
Honduras132052.620.0
Hong Kong, China5112.00.0
Hungary458.410.8
Iceland552.613.6
India133070.10.0
Indonesia117677.974.2
Iran8474.61.0
Iraq1177150.759.1
Ireland4130.30.0
Israel5344.40.0
Italy61018.59.7
Jamaica687.90.0
Japan8237.50.0
Jordan101460.424.2
Kazakhstan8215.215.9
Kenya123039.70.0
Kiribati62164.634.9
Korea101716.953.8
Kuwait13351.381.7
Kyrgyz Republic4157.40.4
Lao PDR810314.10.0
Latvia5162.316.9
Lebanon51187.557.0
Lesotho74037.814.5
Liberia827100.20.0
Lithuania7262.735.9
Luxembourg6266.521.3
Macedonia, FYR793.80.0
Madagascar5711.0289.8
Malawi1039125.90.0
Malaysia91314.70.0
Maldives5911.54.8
Mali1126121.5390.4
Marshall Islands51717.30.0
Mauritania91933.9422.6
Mauritius565.00.0
Mexico92812.511.0
Micronesia716137.50.0
Moldova9158.913.4
Mongolia7134.058.5
Montenegro15214.40.0
Morocco61210.252.3
Mozambique102622.9122.5
Namibia106622.10.0
Nepal73160.20.0
Netherlands6105.951.7
New Zealand110.40.0
Nicaragua639121.00.0
Niger1119170.1702.1
Nigeria83190.10.0
Norway6102.121.0
Oman7143.6461.2
Pakistan112412.60.0
Palau8284.612.2
Panama71319.60.0
Papua New Guinea85623.60.0
Paraguay73567.90.0
Peru106525.70.0
Philippines155229.86.0
Poland103118.8168.8
Portugal662.934.3
Puerto Rico770.80.0
Qatar669.175.4
Romania6103.61.1
Russian Federation8292.62.2
Rwanda814108.90.0
Samoa93539.80.0
São Tomé and Principe1014488.90.0
Saudi Arabia71214.90.0
Senegal4872.7236.2
Serbia11237.66.9
Seychelles9388.30.0
Sierra Leone71756.20.0
Singapore440.70.0
Slovakia6163.330.4
Slovenia5190.146.8
Solomon Islands75753.60.0
South Africa6226.00.0
Spain104714.913.1
Sri Lanka4387.10.0
St. Kitts and Nevis84512.50.0
St. Lucia62022.60.0
St. Vincent and the Grenadines81226.80.0
Sudan103950.80.0
Suriname13694125.20.8
Swaziland136135.10.6
Sweden3150.630.3
Switzerland6202.127.6
Syria81718.24,353.8
Taiwan, China8424.1177.4
Tajikistan134927.6216.8
Tanzania122941.50.0
Thailand8334.90.0
Timor-Leste10836.6331.1
Togo1353251.3559.9
Tonga4259.60.0
Trinidad and Tobago9430.90.0
Tunisia10117.90.0
Turkey6614.910.9
Uganda1825100.70.0
Ukraine10275.5174.2
United Arab Emirates81713.4311.9
United Kingdom6130.80.0
United States660.70.0
Uruguay114443.50.0
Uzbekistan71510.317.7
Vanuatu83954.80.0
Venezuela1614126.80.0
Vietnam115016.80.0
West Bank and Gaza114969.156.1
Yemen71393.00.0
Zambia61828.61.5
Zimbabwe1096432.73.4