Graphic detail | Daily chart

Getting down to business

The rich world shoulders the lightest regulatory burden

By G.S. and L.P.

The rich world shoulders the lightest regulatory burden

SINGAPORE is the best place to do business in the world, according to an annual report by the International Finance Corporation and World Bank. New companies can be formed in just two and a half days in the city-state, compared with six months in Suriname, one of the worst performers of the 189 countries surveyed. Rwanda, Georgia and Belarus continued to scythe their way through red tape. Together they have introduced almost 100 pro-business reforms since 2005. In almost all areas, however, rich countries perform best, as the chart below shows. Only two types of regulation—starting a business and registering a property—are easier to do elsewhere. Entrepreneurs from parts of Central Asia face a frustrating predicament—they can buy land easily yet struggle to get licenses to develop it. Azerbaijan, for instance, ranks among the 15 countries where it is easiest to register property and the 15 worst for getting construction permits.

Discover more

Three reasons why oil prices are remarkably stable

Can it last?

Why America is a “flawed democracy”

EIU’s index plots the country’s democratic decline since 2006


Five charts compare Democrats and Republicans on job creation

Our analysis of the past eight American presidents