By Damas Makangale, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Singapore tops
the list of business-friendly economies globally, while five of the top 10 most
improved countries are in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the World Bank
Group’s doing Business 2015 rankings.
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| Aerial view of Singapore |
The 12th annual
report finds that the 10 economies with the most business-friendly regulatory
environments are Singapore; New Zealand; Hong Kong SAR, China; Denmark; the
Republic of Korea; Norway; the United States; the United Kingdom; Finland; and
Australia.
The 10 economies
that have improved the most since the previous year are Tajikistan, Benin,
Togo, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Trinidad and Tobago, the Democratic Republic of
Congo, Azerbaijan, Ireland, and the United Arab Emirates.
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| Singapore |
Sub-Saharan
African countries had the highest number of regulatory reforms — 75 of 230
around the world — while emerging Europe and Central Asia had the highest
percentage of improving countries.
Progress was
uneven in the Middle East and North Africa, with conflict-affected Syria near
the bottom. South Asia saw the lowest number of reforms.
While 80% of
countries in the study improved their business regulations last year, only
about one-third moved up in the rankings.
However, the gap
between the best- and worst-performing countries continues to narrow as
countries improve their business climates, said Rita Ramalho, manager of the
Doing Business Project.
“It’s easier to
do business this year than it was last year, than it was two years ago or 10
years ago,” she said. “We see that the economies that score the lowest are
reforming more intensely, so they are converging toward the economies that do
the best.”
For example, in
2005 it took an average of 235 days to transfer property in the lowest-ranked
countries and 42 days in the top-ranked countries — a difference of 193 days.
The gap now has narrowed to 62 days (around 90 days for the lowest-ranked and
less than 40 for the top-ranked).
The report
measures the ease of doing business in 189 economies based on 11
business-related regulations, including business start-up, getting credit,
getting electricity, and trading across borders. The report does not cover the
full breadth of business concerns, such as security, macroeconomic stability,
or corruption.
This year’s
report, “Doing Business 2015: Going Beyond Efficiency,” uses new data and
methodology in three areas: resolving insolvency, protecting minority
investors, and getting credit.
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