Doing Business

Doing Business 2020 is the 17th in a series of annual studies investigating the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it. It provides quantitative indicators covering 12 areas of the business environment in 190 economies. The goal of the Doing Business series is to provide objective data for use by governments in designing sound business regulatory policies and to encourage research on the important dimensions of the regulatory environment for firms.

Fifteen in a series of annual reports comparing business regulation in 190 economies, Doing Business 2018 measures aspects of regulation affecting 10 areas of everyday business activity: •Starting a business •Dealing with construction permits •Getting electricity •Registering property •Getting credit •Protecting minority investors •Paying taxes •Trading across borders •Enforcing contracts •Resolving insolvency These areas are included in the distance to frontier score and ease of doing business ranking. Doing Business also measures features of labor market regulation, which is not included in these two measures. The report updates all indicators as of June 1, 2017, ranks economies on their overall "ease of doing business", and analyzes reforms to business regulation – identifying which economies are strengthening their business environment the most. Doing Business illustrates how reforms in business regulations are being used to analyze economic outcomes for domestic entrepreneurs and for the wider economy. It is a flagship product produced in partnership by the World Bank Group that garners worldwide attention on regulatory barriers to entrepreneurship. More than 137 economies have used the Doing Business indicators to shape reform agendas and monitor improvements on the ground. In addition, the Doing Business data has generated over 2,182 articles in peer-reviewed academic journals since its inception. Data Notes; Distance to Frontier and Ease of Doing Business Ranking; and Summaries of Doing Business Reforms in 2016/17 can be downloaded separately from the Doing Business website.

Twelfth in a series of annual reports comparing business regulation in 189 economies, Doing Business 2015 measures regulations affecting 10 areas of everyday business activity: •Starting a business •Dealing with construction permits •Getting electricity •Registering property •Getting credit •Protecting minority investors •Paying taxes •Trading across borders •Enforcing contracts •Resolving insolvency •Labor market regulations This year's report will present data for a second city for the 11 economies with more than 100 million inhabitants. These are Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Russian Federation, and the United States. Three of the 10 topics covered have been expanded, with further plans to expand on five additional indicators in next year's report. Additionally, the Doing Business rankings are now based on the distance to the frontier measure where each economy is evaluated based on how close their business regulations are to the best global practices. This provides a more precise view of each economy's performance and its improvement over time. The report updates all indicators as of June 1, 2014, ranks economies on their overall 'ease of doing business,' and analyzes reforms to business regulation – identifying which economies are strengthening their business environment the most. Doing Business illustrates how reforms in business regulations are being used to analyze economic outcomes for domestic entrepreneurs and for the wider economy. It is a flagship product produced in partnership by the World Bank and IFC that garners worldwide attention on regulatory barriers to entrepreneurship. More than 60 economies have used the Doing Business indicators to shape reform agendas and monitor improvements on the ground. In addition, the Doing Business data has generated over 2,000 articles in peer-reviewed academic journals since its inception.

Sixteenth in a series of annual reports comparing business regulation in 190 economies, Doing Business 2019 measures aspects of regulation affecting 10 areas of everyday business activity: •Starting a business •Dealing with construction permits •Getting electricity •Registering property •Getting credit •Protecting minority investors •Paying taxes •Trading across borders •Enforcing contracts •Resolving insolvency These areas are included in the distance to frontier score and ease of doing business ranking. Doing Business also measures features of labor market regulation, which is not included in these two measures. This edition also presents the findings of the pilot indicator entitled 'Contracting with the Government,' which aims at benchmarking the efficiency, quality and transparency of public procurement systems worldwide. The report updates all indicators as of May 1, 2018, ranks economies on their overall 'ease of doing business', and analyzes reforms to business regulation -- identifying which economies are strengthening their business environment the most. Doing Business illustrates how reforms in business regulations are being used to analyze economic outcomes for domestic entrepreneurs and for the wider economy. It is a flagship product produced in partnership by the World Bank Group that garners worldwide attention on regulatory barriers to entrepreneurship. Almost 140 economies have used the Doing Business indicators to shape reform agendas and monitor improvements on the ground.

Unleash entrepreneurship and navigate global business regulations. This report, eighth in a series, compares business regulations across 183 economies, revealing which are improving and which are slipping. It analyzes reforms impacting everyday business activities, from starting up to closing down, and their effects on domestic entrepreneurs and the wider economy. It's for business leaders, policy makers, and researchers seeking to understand the impact of regulations on economic outcomes. Discover how regulations affect property rights, credit access, investor protections, taxation, and trade. Learn how governments can foster transparency, efficiency, and growth. Discover how women are particularly affected by complex business regulations. This edition provides an objective basis for improving the regulatory environment and empowering entrepreneurs worldwide.

Doing Business 2016 is the 13th publication in a series of annual reports comparing business regulation in 189 economies. This year the publication addresses regulations affecting 10 areas of everyday business activity including: •Starting a business •Dealing with construction permits •Getting electricity •Registering property •Getting credit •Protecting minority investors •Paying taxes •Trading across borders •Enforcing contracts •Resolving insolvency Doing Business 2016 updates all indicators as of June 1, 2015, ranks economies on their overall ease of doing business, and analyzes reforms to business regulation – identifying which economies are strengthening their business environment the most. This report illustrates how reforms in business regulations are being used to analyze economic outcomes for domestic entrepreneurs and for the wider economy. It is a flagship product produced by the World Bank Group that garners worldwide attention on regulatory barriers to entrepreneurship. More than 60 economies have used the Doing Business indicators to shape reform agendas and monitor improvements on the ground. In addition, the Doing Business data has generated over 2,100 articles in peer-reviewed academic journals since its inception.

Fourteenth in a series of annual reports comparing business regulation in 190 economies, Doing Business 2017 measures aspects of regulation affecting 10 areas of everyday business activity: •Starting a business •Dealing with construction permits •Getting electricity •Registering property •Getting credit •Protecting minority investors •Paying taxes •Trading across borders •Enforcing contracts •Resolving insolvency These areas are included in the distance to frontier score and ease of doing business ranking. Doing Business also measures features of labor market regulation, which is not included in these two measures. This year's report introduces major improvements by expanding the paying taxes indicators to cover postfiling processes-tax audits, tax refunds and tax appeals-and presents analysis of pilot data on selling to the government which measures public procurement regulations. Also for the first time this year Doing Business collects data on Somalia, bringing the total number of economies covered to 190. Using the data originally developed by Women, Business and the Law, this year for the first time Doing Business adds a gender component to three indicators-starting a business, registering property, and enforcing contracts-and finds that those economies which limit women's access in these areas have fewer women working in the private sector both as employers and employees. The report updates all indicators as of June 1, 2016, ranks economies on their overall 'ease of doing business', and analyzes reforms to business regulation – identifying which economies are strengthening their business environment the most. Doing Business illustrates how reforms in business regulations are being used to analyze economic outcomes for domestic entrepreneurs and for the wider economy. It is a flagship product produced in partnership by the World Bank Group that garners worldwide attention on regulatory barriers to entrepreneurship. More than 137 economies have used the Doing Business indicators to shape reform agendas and monitor improvements on the ground. In addition, the Doing Business data has generated over 2,182 articles in peer-reviewed academic journals since its inception.