Developmentrelevance:
The Doing Business report was first published in 2003 with five indicator sets measuring business regulation in 133 economies. The report has grown into an annual publication covering 11 indicator sets and 189 economies. In these 10 years Doing Business has recorded nearly 2,000 business regulation reforms in the areas covered by the indicators and researchers have produced well over 1,000 articles in peer-reviewed journals using the data published by Doing Business - work that helps explore many of the key development questions of our time.

The Doing Business indicators points to important trends in regulatory reform and identifies the regions and economies making the biggest improvements for local entrepreneurs. It highlights both the areas of business regulation that have received the most attention and those where more progress remains to be made. The report also reviews research on which regulatory reforms have worked and how. Among the highlights are smarter business regulation supports economic growth, simpler business registration promotes greater entrepreneurship and firm productivity, while lower-cost registration improves formal employment opportunities, an effective regulatory environment boosts trade performance, and sound financial market infrastructure - courts, creditor and insolvency laws, and credit and collateral registries - improves access to credit.

IndicatorName: Cost to export (US$ per container)

Limitationsandexceptions:
Data on the costs to export or import are from the World Bank's Doing Business surveys, which compile procedural requirements for exporting and importing a standardized cargo of goods by ocean transport from local freight forwarders, shipping lines, customs brokers, port officials, and banks.

The procedural requirements for exporting and importing goods involved filling out several required documents. These documents are associated with every official procedure - from the contractual agreement between the 2 parties to the delivery of goods, and needs to be filled and submitted in a timely manner.

Several assumptions about the business and traded goods are used. For the business, it is assumed that it has at least 60 employees, located in the economy's largest business city, is a private limited-liability company, is 100% domestically owned, and exports more than 10% of its sales. For the traded goods, it is assumed that the product travels in a dry-cargo, 20-foot, full container load, weighs 10 tons, and valued at $20,000. The assumptions about the product being traded are that it is not hazardous or include any military items, does not require refrigeration or any other special environment, requires only the internationally accepted safety standards, and is one of the economy's leading export or import products.

Trade facilitation encompasses customs efficiency and other physical and regulatory environments where trade takes place, harmonization of standards and conformance to international regulations, and the logistics of moving goods and associated documentation through countries and ports. Though collection of trade facilitation data has improved over the last decade, data that allow meaningful evaluation, especially for developing economies, are lacking.

Longdefinition: Cost measures the fees levied on a 20-foot container in U.S. dollars. All the fees associated with completing the procedures to export or import the goods are included. These include costs for documents, administrative fees for customs clearance and technical control, customs broker fees, terminal handling charges and inland transport. The cost measure does not include tariffs or trade taxes. Only official costs are recorded. Several assumptions are made for the business surveyed: Has 60 or more employees; Is located in the country's most populous city; Is a private, limited liability company. It does not operate within an export processing zone or an industrial estate with special export or import privileges; Is domestically owned with no foreign ownership; Exports more than 10% of its sales. Assumptions about the traded goods: The traded product travels in a dry-cargo, 20-foot, full container load. The product: Is not hazardous nor does it include military items; Does not require refrigeration or any other special environment; Does not require any special phytosanitary or environmental safety standards other than accepted international standards.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
The World Bank's Doing Business measures the time and cost (excluding tariffs) associated with exporting and importing a standardized cargo of goods by sea transport. The time and cost necessary to complete every official procedure for exporting and importing the goods are recorded; however, the time and cost for sea transport are not included. All documents needed by the trader to export or import the goods across the border are also recorded. For exporting goods, procedures range from packing the goods into the container at the warehouse to their departure from the port of exit. For importing goods, procedures range from the vessel's arrival at the port of entry to the cargo's delivery at the warehouse. For landlocked economies, these include procedures at the inland border post, since the port is located in the transit economy. Payment is made by letter of credit, and the time, cost and documents required for the issuance or advising of a letter of credit are taken into account. The ranking on the ease of trading across borders is the simple average of the percentile rankings on its component indicators.

Local freight forwarders, shipping lines, customs brokers, port officials and banks provide information on required documents and cost as well as the time to complete each procedure. To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the business and the traded goods are used.

Cost measures the fees levied on a 20-foot container in U.S. dollars. All the fees associated with completing the procedures to export or import the goods are taken into account. These include costs for documents, administrative fees for customs clearance and inspections, customs broker fees, port-related charges and inland transport costs. The cost does not include customs tariffs and duties or costs related to sea transport. Only official costs are recorded.


Aggregationmethod: Unweighted average

Generalcomments:
Insurance cost and informal payments for which no receipt is issued are excluded from the costs recorded. Costs are reported in U.S. dollars. Contributors are asked to convert local currency into U.S. dollars based on the exchange rate prevailing on the day they answer the questionnaire. Contributors are private sector experts in international trade logistics and are informed about exchange rates and their movements.

Data are presented for the survey year instead of publication year.

IndicatorName: Cost to export, border compliance (US$)

License_Type: CC BY-4.0

Limitationsandexceptions: If inspections by agencies other than customs are conducted in 20% or fewer cases, the border compliance time and cost measures take into account only clearance and inspections by customs (the standard case). If inspections by other agencies take place in more than 20% of cases, the time and cost measures account for clearance and inspections by all agencies. Different types of inspections may take place with different probabilities—for example, scanning may take place in 100% of cases while physical inspection occurs in 5% of cases. In situations like this, Doing Business would count the time only for scanning because it happens in more than 20% of cases while physical inspection does not. The border compliance time and cost for an economy do not include the time and cost for compliance with the regulations of any other economy.

Longdefinition: Border compliance captures the time and cost associated with compliance with the economy’s customs regulations and with regulations relating to other inspections that are mandatory in order for the shipment to cross the economy’s border, as well as the time and cost for handling that takes place at its port or border. The time and cost for this segment include time and cost for customs clearance and inspection procedures conducted by other government agencies.

Periodicity: Annual

Source: World Bank, Doing Business project (http://www.doingbusiness.org/). NOTE: Doing Business has been discontinued as of 9/16/2021. For more information: https://bit.ly/3CLCbme

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
The computation of border compliance time and cost depends on where the border compliance procedures take place, who requires and conducts the procedures and what is the probability that inspections will be conducted. If all customs clearance and other inspections take place at the port or border, the time estimate for border compliance takes this simultaneity into account. It is entirely possible that the border compliance time and cost could be negligible or zero, as in the case of trade between members of the European Union or other customs unions.

If some or all customs or other inspections take place at other locations, the time and cost for these procedures are added to the time and cost for those that take place at the port or border. In Kazakhstan, for example, all customs clearance and inspections take place at a customs post in Almaty that is not at the land border between Kazakhstan and China. In this case border compliance time is the sum of the time spent at the terminal in Almaty and the handling time at the border.

Doing Business asks contributors to estimate the time and cost for clearance and inspections by customs agencies— defined as documentary and physical inspections for the purpose of calculating duties by verifying product classification, confirming quantity, determining origin and checking the veracity of other information on the customs declaration. (This category includes all inspections aimed at preventing smuggling.) These are clearance and inspection procedures that take place in the majority of cases and thus are considered the "standard" case. The time and cost estimates capture the efficiency of the customs agency of the economy.

Doing Business also asks contributors to estimate the total time and cost for clearance and inspections by customs and all other government agencies for the specified product. These estimates account for inspections related to health, safety, phytosanitary standards, conformity and the like, and thus capture the efficiency of agencies that require and conduct these additional inspections.

Topic: Private Sector & Trade: Trade facilitation


IndicatorName: Cost to export, documentary compliance (US$)

Longdefinition: Documentary compliance captures the time and cost associated with compliance with the documentary requirements of all government agencies of the origin economy, the destination economy and any transit economies. The aim is to measure the total burden of preparing the bundle of documents that will enable completion of the international trade for the product and partner pair assumed in the case study.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
The time and cost for documentary compliance include the time and cost for obtaining documents (such as time spent to get the document issued and stamped); preparing documents (such as time spent gathering information to complete the customs declaration or certificate of origin); processing documents (such as time spent waiting for the relevant authority to issue a phytosanitary certificate); presenting documents (such as time spent showing a port terminal receipt to port authorities); and submitting documents (such as time spent submitting a customs declaration to the customs agency in person or electronically).

All electronic or paper submissions of information requested by any government agency in connection with the shipment are considered to be documents obtained, prepared and submitted during the export or import process. All documents prepared by the freight forwarder or customs broker for the product and partner pair assumed in the case study are included regardless of whether they are required by law or in practice. Any documents prepared and submitted so as to get access to preferential treatment— for example, a certificate of origin—are included in the calculation of the time and cost for documentary compliance. Any documents prepared and submitted because of a perception that they ease the passage of the shipment are also included (for example, freight forwarders may prepare a packing list because in their experience this reduces the probability of physical or other intrusive inspections).

In addition, any documents that are mandatory for exporting or importing are included in the calculation of time and cost. Documents that need to be obtained only once are not counted, however. And Doing Business does not include documents needed to produce and sell in the domestic market—such as certificates of third-party safety standards testing that may be required to sell toys domestically—unless a government agency needs to see these documents during the export process.


Generalcomments: Data are presented for the survey year instead of publication year.

IndicatorName: Documents to export (number)

Limitationsandexceptions:
Data on the number of documents needed to export or import are from the World Bank's Doing Business surveys, which compile procedural requirements for exporting and importing a standardized cargo of goods by ocean transport from local freight forwarders, shipping lines, customs brokers, port officials, and banks.

The procedural requirements for exporting and importing goods involved filling out several required documents. These documents are associated with every official procedure - from the contractual agreement between the 2 parties to the delivery of goods, and needs to be filled and submitted in a timely manner.

Several assumptions about the business and traded goods are used. For the business, it is assumed that it has at least 60 employees, located in the economy's largest business city, is a private limited-liability company, is 100% domestically owned, and exports more than 10% of its sales. For the traded goods, it is assumed that the product travels in a dry-cargo, 20-foot, full container load, weighs 10 tons, and valued at $20,000. The assumptions about the product being traded are that it is not hazardous or include any military items, does not require refrigeration or any other special environment, requires only the internationally accepted safety standards, and is one of the economy's leading export or import products.

Trade facilitation encompasses customs efficiency and other physical and regulatory environments where trade takes place, harmonization of standards and conformance to international regulations, and the logistics of moving goods and associated documentation through countries and ports. Though collection of trade facilitation data has improved over the last decade, data that allow meaningful evaluation, especially for developing economies, are lacking.

Longdefinition: All documents required per shipment to export goods are recorded. It is assumed that the contract has already been agreed upon and signed by both parties. Documents required for clearance by government ministries, customs authorities, port and container terminal authorities, health and technical control agencies and banks are taken into account. Since payment is by letter of credit, all documents required by banks for the issuance or securing of a letter of credit are also taken into account. Documents that are renewed annually and that do not require renewal per shipment (for example, an annual tax clearance certificate) are not included.

Shortdefinition: Documents to export are all documents required per shipment by government ministries, customs authorities, port and container terminals, health and technical control agencies, and banks to export goods. Documents renewed annually and not requiring renewal per shipment are excluded.

Source: World Bank, Doing Business project (http://www.doingbusiness.org/).

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
The World Bank's Doing Business measures the time and cost (excluding tariffs) associated with exporting and importing a standardized cargo of goods by sea transport. The time and cost necessary to complete every official procedure for exporting and importing the goods are recorded; however, the time and cost for sea transport are not included. All documents needed by the trader to export or import the goods across the border are also recorded. For exporting goods, procedures range from packing the goods into the container at the warehouse to their departure from the port of exit. For importing goods, procedures range from the vessel's arrival at the port of entry to the cargo's delivery at the warehouse. For landlocked economies, these include procedures at the inland border post, since the port is located in the transit economy. Payment is made by letter of credit, and the time, cost and documents required for the issuance or advising of a letter of credit are taken into account. The ranking on the ease of trading across borders is the simple average of the percentile rankings on its component indicators.

Local freight forwarders, shipping lines, customs brokers, port officials and banks provide information on required documents and cost as well as the time to complete each procedure. To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the business and the traded goods are used.

All documents required per shipment to export and import the goods are recorded. It is assumed that a new contract is drafted per shipment and that the contract has already been agreed upon and executed by both parties. Documents required for clearance by relevant agencies - including government ministries, customs, port authorities and other control agencies - are taken into account. Since payment is by letter of credit, all documents required by banks for the issuance or securing of a letter of credit are also taken into account. Documents that are requested at the time of clearance but that are valid for a year or longer and do not require renewal per shipment (for example, an annual tax clearance certificate) are not included.

Documents to export include bank documents, customs clearance documents, port and terminal handling documents, and transport documents.


IndicatorName: Time to export (days)

Limitationsandexceptions:
Data on the number of days needed to export or import are from the World Bank's Doing Business surveys, which compile procedural requirements for exporting and importing a standardized cargo of goods by ocean transport from local freight forwarders, shipping lines, customs brokers, port officials, and banks.

The procedural requirements for exporting and importing goods involved filling out several required documents. These documents are associated with every official procedure - from the contractual agreement between the 2 parties to the delivery of goods, and needs to be filled and submitted in a timely manner.

Several assumptions about the business and traded goods are used. For the business, it is assumed that it has at least 60 employees, located in the economy's largest business city, is a private limited-liability company, is 100% domestically owned, and exports more than 10% of its sales. For the traded goods, it is assumed that the product travels in a dry-cargo, 20-foot, full container load, weighs 10 tons, and valued at $20,000. The assumptions about the product being traded are that it is not hazardous or include any military items, does not require refrigeration or any other special environment, requires only the internationally accepted safety standards, and is one of the economy's leading export or import products.

Trade facilitation encompasses customs efficiency and other physical and regulatory environments where trade takes place, harmonization of standards and conformance to international regulations, and the logistics of moving goods and associated documentation through countries and ports. Though collection of trade facilitation data has improved over the last decade, data that allow meaningful evaluation, especially for developing economies, are lacking.

Longdefinition: Time to export is the time necessary to comply with all procedures required to export goods. Time is recorded in calendar days. The time calculation for a procedure starts from the moment it is initiated and runs until it is completed. If a procedure can be accelerated for an additional cost, the fastest legal procedure is chosen. It is assumed that neither the exporter nor the importer wastes time and that each commits to completing each remaining procedure without delay. Procedures that can be completed in parallel are measured as simultaneous. The waiting time between procedures--for example, during unloading of the cargo--is included in the measure.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
The World Bank's Doing Business measures the time and cost (excluding tariffs) associated with exporting and importing a standardized cargo of goods by sea transport. The time and cost necessary to complete every official procedure for exporting and importing the goods are recorded; however, the time and cost for sea transport are not included. All documents needed by the trader to export or import the goods across the border are also recorded. For exporting goods, procedures range from packing the goods into the container at the warehouse to their departure from the port of exit. For importing goods, procedures range from the vessel's arrival at the port of entry to the cargo's delivery at the warehouse. For landlocked economies, these include procedures at the inland border post, since the port is located in the transit economy. Payment is made by letter of credit, and the time, cost and documents required for the issuance or advising of a letter of credit are taken into account. The ranking on the ease of trading across borders is the simple average of the percentile rankings on its component indicators.

Local freight forwarders, shipping lines, customs brokers, port officials and banks provide information on required documents and cost as well as the time to complete each procedure. To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the business and the traded goods are used.

The time for exporting and importing is recorded in calendar days. The time calculation for a procedure starts from the moment it is initiated and runs until it is completed. If a procedure can be accelerated for an additional cost and is available to all trading companies, the fastest legal procedure is chosen. Fast-track procedures applying only to firms located in an export processing zone, or only to certain accredited firms under authorized economic operator programs, are not taken into account because they are not available to all trading companies.

It is assumed that neither the exporter nor the importer wastes time and that each commits to completing each remaining procedure without delay. Procedures that can be completed in parallel are measured as simultaneous. But it is assumed that document preparation, inland transport, customs and other clearance, and port and terminal handling require a minimum time of 1 day each and cannot take place simultaneously. The waiting time between procedures - for example, during unloading of the cargo - is included in the measure.


Generalcomments:
Time is measured in hours, and 1 day is 24 hours (for example, 22 days are recorded as 22 × 24 = 528 hours). If customs clearance takes 7.5 hours, the data are recorded as is. Alternatively, suppose that documents are submitted to a customs agency at 8:00 a.m., are processed overnight and can be picked up at 8:00 a.m. the next day. In this case the time for customs clearance would be recorded as 24 hours because the actual procedure took 24 hours.

Data are presented for the survey year instead of publication year.

IndicatorName: Time to export, border compliance (hours)


IndicatorName: Time to export, documentary compliance (hours)


Developmentrelevance:
Firms evaluating investment options, governments interested in improving business conditions, and economists seeking to explain economic performance have all grappled with defining and measuring the business environment. The firm-level data from Enterprise Surveys provide a useful tool for benchmarking economies across a large number of indicators measured at the firm level.

Corruption by public officials may present a major administrative and financial burden on firms. Corruption creates an unfavorable business environment by undermining the operational efficiency of firms and raising the costs and risks associated with doing business.

In some countries doing business requires informal payments to "get things done" in customs, taxes, licenses, regulations, services, and the like. Such corruption can harm the business environment by distorting policymaking, undermining government credibility, and diverting public resources.

IndicatorName: Firms using banks to finance working capital (% of firms)

Limitationsandexceptions:
The sampling methodology for Enterprise Surveys is stratified random sampling. In a simple random sample, all members of the population have the same probability of being selected and no weighting of the observations is necessary. In a stratified random sample, all population units are grouped within homogeneous groups and simple random samples are selected within each group. This method allows computing estimates for each of the strata with a specified level of precision while population estimates can also be estimated by properly weighting individual observations. The sampling weights take care of the varying probabilities of selection across different strata. Under certain conditions, estimates' precision under stratified random sampling will be higher than under simple random sampling (lower standard errors may result from the estimation procedure).

The strata for Enterprise Surveys are firm size, business sector, and geographic region within a country. Firm size levels are 5-19 (small), 20-99 (medium), and 100+ employees (large-sized firms). Since in most economies, the majority of firms are small and medium-sized, Enterprise Surveys oversample large firms since larger firms tend to be engines of job creation. Sector breakdown is usually manufacturing, retail, and other services. For larger economies, specific manufacturing sub-sectors are selected as additional strata on the basis of employment, value-added, and total number of establishments figures. Geographic regions within a country are selected based on which cities/regions collectively contain the majority of economic activity.

Ideally the survey sample frame is derived from the universe of eligible firms obtained from the country’s statistical office. Sometimes the master list of firms is obtained from other government agencies such as tax or business licensing authorities. In some cases, the list of firms is obtained from business associations or marketing databases. In a few cases, the sample frame is created via block enumeration, where the World Bank “manually” constructs a list of eligible firms after 1) partitioning a country’s cities of major economic activity into clusters and blocks, 2) randomly selecting a subset of blocks which will then be enumerated. In surveys conducted since 2005-06, survey documentation which explains the source of the sample frame and any special circumstances encountered during survey fieldwork are included with the collected datasets.

Obtaining panel data, i.e. interviews with the same firms across multiple years, is a priority in current Enterprise Surveys. When conducting a new Enterprise Survey in a country where data was previously collected, maximal effort is expended to re-interview as many firms (from the prior survey) as possible. For these panel firms, sampling weights can be adjusted to take into account the resulting altered probabilities of inclusion in the sample frame.

Longdefinition: Firms using banks to finance working capital are the percentage of firms using bank loans to finance working capital.

Notesfromoriginalsource: All surveys were administered using the Enterprise Surveys methodology as outlined in the Methodology page which can be found from www.enterprisesurveys.org.

Source: World Bank, Enterprise Surveys (http://www.enterprisesurveys.org/).

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
Firm-level surveys have been conducted since the 1990's by different units within the World Bank. Since 2005-06, most data collection efforts have been centralized within the Enterprise Analysis Unit. Surveys implemented by the Enterprise Analysis Unit follow the Global Methodology.

Private contractors conduct the Enterprise Surveys on behalf of the World Bank. Due to sensitive survey questions addressing business-government relations and bribery-related topics, private contractors, rather than any government agency or an organization/institution associated with government, are hired by the World Bank to collect the data.

Confidentiality of the survey respondents and the sensitive information they provide is necessary to ensure the greatest degree of survey participation, integrity and confidence in the quality of the data. Surveys are usually carried out in cooperation with business organizations and government agencies promoting job creation and economic growth, but confidentiality is never compromised.

The Enterprise Survey is answered by business owners and top managers. Sometimes the survey respondent calls company accountants and human resource managers into the interview to answer questions in the sales and labor sections of the survey. Typically 1200-1800 interviews are conducted in larger economies, 360 interviews are conducted in medium-sized economies, and for smaller economies, 150 interviews take place.

The manufacturing and services sectors are the primary business sectors of interest. This corresponds to firms classified with ISIC codes 15-37, 45, 50-52, 55, 60-64, and 72 (ISIC Rev.3.1). Formal (registered) companies with 5 or more employees are targeted for interview. Services firms include construction, retail, wholesale, hotels, restaurants, transport, storage, communications, and IT. Firms with 100% government/state ownership are not eligible to participate in an Enterprise Survey. Occasionally, for a few surveyed countries, other sectors are included in the companies surveyed such as education or health-related businesses. In each country, businesses in the cities/regions of major economic activity are interviewed.

In some countries, other surveys, which depart from the usual Enterprise Survey methodology, are conducted. Examples include 1) Informal Surveys- surveys of informal (unregistered) enterprises, 2) Micro Surveys- surveys fielded to registered firms with less than five employees, and 3) Financial Crisis Assessment Surveys- short surveys administered by telephone to assess the effects of the global financial crisis of 2008-09.

The Enterprise Surveys Unit uses two instruments: the Manufacturing Questionnaire and the Services Questionnaire. Although many questions overlap, some are only applicable to one type of business. For example, retail firms are not asked about production and nonproduction workers.

The standard Enterprise Survey topics include firm characteristics, gender participation, access to finance, annual sales, costs of inputs/labor, workforce composition, bribery, licensing, infrastructure, trade, crime, competition, capacity utilization, land and permits, taxation, informality, business-government relations, innovation and technology, and performance measures.

Over 90% of the questions objectively ascertain characteristics of a country’s business environment. The remaining questions assess the survey respondents’ opinions on what are the obstacles to firm growth and performance. The mode of data collection is face-to-face interviews.

Topic: Private Sector & Trade: Business environment


Developmentrelevance:
Firms evaluating investment options, governments interested in improving business conditions, and economists seeking to explain economic performance have all grappled with defining and measuring the business environment. The firm-level data from Enterprise Surveys provide a useful tool for benchmarking economies across a large number of indicators measured at the firm level.

Financial markets connect firms to lenders and investors, allowing firms to grow their businesses: creditworthy firms can obtain credit from financial intermediaries at competitive prices. But too often market imperfections and government-induced distortions limit access to credit and thus restrain growth.

Excessive reliance on internal funds is a sign of potentially inefficient financial intermediation.

IndicatorName: Firms using banks to finance investment (% of firms)

Longdefinition: Firms using banks to finance investment are the percentage of firms using banks to finance investments.


IndicatorName: Bribery incidence (% of firms experiencing at least one bribe payment request)

Longdefinition: Bribery incidence is the percentage of firms experiencing at least one bribe payment request across 6 public transactions dealing with utilities access, permits, licenses, and taxes.


Developmentrelevance:
Firms evaluating investment options, governments interested in improving business conditions, and economists seeking to explain economic performance have all grappled with defining and measuring the business environment. The firm-level data from Enterprise Surveys provide a useful tool for benchmarking economies across a large number of indicators measured at the firm level.

Informality is associated with business operations without registration. The informal sector in an economy may be a source of unfair competition to formal firms and also deprive governments of potential tax revenue and diminish a government's capacity for regulatory oversight.

Informality can be defined along different dimensions such as operating without registration, income tax evasion, labor tax evasion, or operating outside the legal framework of an economy. Firms may show different degrees of informality along these dimensions which may also overlap.

A large informal sector has serious consequences for the formal private sector, and may pose unfair competition for formal firms. It is an approximation to the prevalence of informality in the private economy.

IndicatorName: Firms competing against unregistered firms (% of firms)

Longdefinition: Firms competing against unregistered firms are the percentage of firms competing against unregistered or informal firms.


IndicatorName: Informal payments to public officials (% of firms)

Longdefinition: Informal payments to public officials are the percentage of firms expected to make informal payments to public officials to "get things done" with regard to customs, taxes, licenses, regulations, services, and the like.


Developmentrelevance:
Firms evaluating investment options, governments interested in improving business conditions, and economists seeking to explain economic performance have all grappled with defining and measuring the business environment. The firm-level data from Enterprise Surveys provide a useful tool for benchmarking economies across a large number of indicators measured at the firm level.

Crime imposes costs on firms when they are forced to divert resources from productive uses to cover security costs. Both foreign and domestic investors perceive crime as an indication of social instability, and crime drives up the cost of doing business. Also, commercial disputes between firms and their clients occur regularly in the course of doing business. Resolving these disputes can be challenging when legal institutions are weak or nonexistent.

Crime, theft, and disorder may impose additional costs to businesses and society, and consume considerable resources.

IndicatorName: Losses due to theft and vandalism (% of annual sales of affected firms)

Longdefinition: Average losses as a result of theft, robbery, vandalism or arson that occurred on the establishment’s premises calculated as a percentage of annual sales. The value represents the average losses for all firms which reported losses (please see indicator IC.FRM.THEV.ZS).

Source: World Bank, Enterprise Surveys (http://www.enterprisesurveys.org/)

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
Firm-level surveys have been conducted since the 1990's by different units within the World Bank. Since 2005-06, most data collection efforts have been centralized within the Enterprise Analysis Unit. Surveys implemented by the Enterprise Analysis Unit follow the Global Methodology.

Private contractors conduct the Enterprise Surveys on behalf of the World Bank. Due to sensitive survey questions addressing business-government relations and bribery-related topics, private contractors, rather than any government agency or an organization/institution associated with government, are hired by the World Bank to collect the data.

Confidentiality of the survey respondents and the sensitive information they provide is necessary to ensure the greatest degree of survey participation, integrity and confidence in the quality of the data. Surveys are usually carried out in cooperation with business organizations and government agencies promoting job creation and economic growth, but confidentiality is never compromised.

The Enterprise Survey is answered by business owners and top managers. Sometimes the survey respondent calls company accountants and human resource managers into the interview to answer questions in the sales and labor sections of the survey. Typically 1200-1800 interviews are conducted in larger economies, 360 interviews are conducted in medium-sized economies, and for smaller economies, 150 interviews take place.

The manufacturing and services sectors are the primary business sectors of interest. This corresponds to firms classified with ISIC codes 15-37, 45, 50-52, 55, 60-64, and 72 (ISIC Rev.3.1). Formal (registered) companies with 5 or more employees are targeted for interview. Services firms include construction, retail, wholesale, hotels, restaurants, transport, storage, communications, and IT. Firms with 100% government/state ownership are not eligible to participate in an Enterprise Survey. Occasionally, for a few surveyed countries, other sectors are included in the companies surveyed such as education or health-related businesses. In each country, businesses in the cities/regions of major economic activity are interviewed.

In some countries, other surveys, which depart from the usual Enterprise Survey methodology, are conducted. Examples include 1) Informal Surveys- surveys of informal (unregistered) enterprises, 2) Micro Surveys- surveys fielded to registered firms with less than five employees, and 3) Financial Crisis Assessment Surveys- short surveys administered by telephone to assess the effects of the global financial crisis of 2008-09.

The Enterprise Surveys Unit uses two instruments: the Manufacturing Questionnaire and the Services Questionnaire. Although many questions overlap, some are only applicable to one type of business. For example, retail firms are not asked about production and nonproduction workers.

The standard Enterprise Survey topics include firm characteristics, gender participation, access to finance, annual sales, costs of inputs/labor, workforce composition, bribery, licensing, infrastructure, trade, crime, competition, capacity utilization, land and permits, taxation, informality, business-government relations, innovation and technology, and performance measures.

Over 90% of the questions objectively ascertain characteristics of a country’s business environment. The remaining questions assess the survey respondents’ opinions on what are the obstacles to firm growth and performance. The mode of data collection is face-to-face interviews.

Please also refer to the methodology information on the Enterprise Surveys site: https://www.enterprisesurveys.org/en/methodology


Developmentrelevance:
Firms evaluating investment options, governments interested in improving business conditions, and economists seeking to explain economic performance have all grappled with defining and measuring the business environment. The firm-level data from Enterprise Surveys provide a useful tool for benchmarking economies across a large number of indicators measured at the firm level.

Most countries can improve regulation and taxation without compromising broader social interests. Excessive regulation may harm business performance and growth. For example, time spent with tax officials is a burden firms may face in paying taxes. The business environment suffers when governments increase uncertainty and risks or impose unnecessary costs and unsound regulation and taxation. Time to obtain licenses and permits and the associated red tape constrain firm operations.

Open markets allow firms to expand, raise standards for efficiency on exporters, and enable firms to import low cost supplies. However, trading also forces firms to deal with customs services and trade regulations, obtain export and import licenses, and in some cases, firms also face additional costs due to losses during transport.

IndicatorName: Time required to obtain an operating license (days)

Longdefinition: Time required to obtain operating license is the average wait to obtain an operating license from the day the establishment applied for it to the day it was granted.


Developmentrelevance:
Firms evaluating investment options, governments interested in improving business conditions, and economists seeking to explain economic performance have all grappled with defining and measuring the business environment. The firm-level data from Enterprise Surveys provide a useful tool for benchmarking economies across a large number of indicators measured at the firm level.

Firms with female top manager measures women's integration as decision makers. Benchmarking firms with female top manager is important to achieving gender equality promotion and empowerment of women. The gender topic provides information about women's entrepreneurship and economic participation in the labor force.

Generalcomments: Relevance to gender indicator: Women are vastly underrepresented in decision making positions at the top level in the private sector and this indicator monitors progress that has been made.

IndicatorName: Firms with female top manager (% of firms)

Longdefinition: Firms with female top manager refers to the percentage of firms in the private sector who have females as top managers. Top manager refers to the highest ranking manager or CEO of the establishment. This person may be the owner if he/she works as the manager of the firm. The results are based on surveys of more than 100,000 private firms.


Developmentrelevance:
Firms evaluating investment options, governments interested in improving business conditions, and economists seeking to explain economic performance have all grappled with defining and measuring the business environment. The firm-level data from Enterprise Surveys provide a useful tool for benchmarking economies across a large number of indicators measured at the firm level.

Female participation in firm ownership and in management measures women's integration as decision makers. Benchmarking female participation in firm ownership, management, and the workforce is important to achieving gender equality promotion and empowerment of women. The gender topic provides information about women's entrepreneurship and economic participation in the labor force.

IndicatorName: Firms with female participation in ownership (% of firms)

Longdefinition: Firms with female participation in ownership are the percentage of firms with a woman among the principal owners.


Developmentrelevance:
Firms evaluating investment options, governments interested in improving business conditions, and economists seeking to explain economic performance have all grappled with defining and measuring the business environment. The firm-level data from Enterprise Surveys provide a useful tool for benchmarking economies across a large number of indicators measured at the firm level.

In this indicator informality is associated with business operations without registration. The informal sector in an economy may be a source of unfair competition to formal firms and also deprive governments of potential tax revenue and diminish a government's capacity for regulatory oversight.

Informality can be defined along different dimensions such as operating without registration, income tax evasion, labor tax evasion, or operating outside the legal framework of an economy. Firms may show different degrees of informality along these dimensions which may also overlap.

A large informal sector has serious consequences for the formal private sector, and may pose unfair competition for formal firms. It is an approximation to the prevalence of informality in the private economy.

IndicatorName: Firms formally registered when operations started (% of firms)

Longdefinition: Firms formally registered when operations started are the percentage of firms formally registered when they started operations in the country.


IndicatorName: Firms that do not report all sales for tax purposes (% of firms)

Longdefinition: Firms that do not report all sales for tax purposes are the percentage of firms that expressed that a typical firm reports less than 100 percent of sales for tax purposes; such firms are termed "informal firms."

Notesfromoriginalsource: Most surveys were administered using the Enterprise Surveys methodology as outlined in the Methodology page which can be found from www.enterprisesurveys.org. For surveys which did not strictly adhere to the global Enterprise Surveys methodology, plus Afghanistan, any inference from one of these surveys is representative only for the data sample itself, not the country level.


IndicatorName: Firms visited or required meetings with tax officials (% of firms)

Longdefinition: Percent of firms that were visited or required to meet with tax officials.


Developmentrelevance:
Firms evaluating investment options, governments interested in improving business conditions, and economists seeking to explain economic performance have all grappled with defining and measuring the business environment. The firm-level data from Enterprise Surveys provide a useful tool for benchmarking economies across a large number of indicators measured at the firm level.

The reliability and availability of infrastructure benefit households and support development. Firms with access to modern and efficient infrastructure - telecommunications, electricity, and transport - can be more productive.

A strong infrastructure enhances the competitiveness of an economy and generates a business environment conducive to firm growth and development. Good infrastructure efficiently connects firms to their customers and suppliers, and enables the use of modern production technologies. Conversely, deficiencies in infrastructure, such as loss of electricity on regular basis, create barriers to productive opportunities and increase costs for all firms, from micro enterprises to large multinational corporations.

IndicatorName: Value lost due to electrical outages (% of sales for affected firms)

Longdefinition: Average losses due to electrical outages, as percentage of total annual sales. The value represents average losses for all firms which reported outages (please see indicator IC.ELC.OUTG.ZS).


IndicatorName: Firms that spend on R&D (% of firms)

Longdefinition: Percent of firms that spend on research and development.


IndicatorName: Firms experiencing losses due to theft and vandalism (% of firms)

Longdefinition: Percent of firms experiencing losses due to theft, robbery, vandalism or arson that occurred on the establishment's premises.


IndicatorName: Firms offering formal training (% of firms)

Longdefinition: Firms offering formal training are the percentage of firms offering formal training programs for their permanent, full-time employees.


IndicatorName: Time spent dealing with the requirements of government regulations (% of senior management time)

Longdefinition: Time spent dealing with the requirements of government regulations is the proportion of senior management's time, in a typical week, that is spent dealing with the requirements imposed by government regulations (e.g., taxes, customs, labor regulations, licensing and registration, including dealings with officials, and completing forms).


IndicatorName: Cost to import (US$ per container)

Longdefinition: Cost measures the fees levied on a 20-foot container in U.S. dollars. All the fees associated with completing the procedures to export or import the goods are included. These include costs for documents, administrative fees for customs clearance and technical control, customs broker fees, terminal handling charges and inland transport. The cost measure does not include tariffs or trade taxes. Only official costs are recorded.


IndicatorName: Cost to import, border compliance (US$)

Longdefinition: Border compliance captures the time and cost associated with compliance with the economy’s customs regulations and with regulations relating to other inspections that are mandatory in order for the shipment to cross the economy’s border, as well as the time and cost for handling that takes place at its port or border. The time and cost for this segment include time and cost for customs clearance and inspection procedures conducted by other government agencies.


IndicatorName: Cost to import, documentary compliance (US$)

Longdefinition: Documentary compliance captures the time and cost associated with compliance with the documentary requirements of all government agencies of the origin economy, the destination economy and any transit economies. The aim is to measure the total burden of preparing the bundle of documents that will enable completion of the international trade for the product and partner pair assumed in the case study.


IndicatorName: Documents to import (number)

Longdefinition: All documents required per shipment to import goods are recorded. It is assumed that the contract has already been agreed upon and signed by both parties. Documents required for clearance by government ministries, customs authorities, port and container terminal authorities, health and technical control agencies and banks are taken into account. Since payment is by letter of credit, all documents required by banks for the issuance or securing of a letter of credit are also taken into account. Documents that are renewed annually and that do not require renewal per shipment (for example, an annual tax clearance certificate) are not included.

Shortdefinition: Documents to import are all documents required per shipment by government ministries, customs authorities, port and container terminals, health and technical control agencies, and banks to import goods. Documents renewed annually and not requiring renewal per shipment are excluded.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
The World Bank's Doing Business measures the time and cost (excluding tariffs) associated with exporting and importing a standardized cargo of goods by sea transport. The time and cost necessary to complete every official procedure for exporting and importing the goods are recorded; however, the time and cost for sea transport are not included. All documents needed by the trader to export or import the goods across the border are also recorded. For exporting goods, procedures range from packing the goods into the container at the warehouse to their departure from the port of exit. For importing goods, procedures range from the vessel's arrival at the port of entry to the cargo's delivery at the warehouse. For landlocked economies, these include procedures at the inland border post, since the port is located in the transit economy. Payment is made by letter of credit, and the time, cost and documents required for the issuance or advising of a letter of credit are taken into account. The ranking on the ease of trading across borders is the simple average of the percentile rankings on its component indicators.

Local freight forwarders, shipping lines, customs brokers, port officials and banks provide information on required documents and cost as well as the time to complete each procedure. To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the business and the traded goods are used.

All documents required per shipment to export and import the goods are recorded. It is assumed that a new contract is drafted per shipment and that the contract has already been agreed upon and executed by both parties. Documents required for clearance by relevant agencies - including government ministries, customs, port authorities and other control agencies - are taken into account. Since payment is by letter of credit, all documents required by banks for the issuance or securing of a letter of credit are also taken into account. Documents that are requested at the time of clearance but that are valid for a year or longer and do not require renewal per shipment (for example, an annual tax clearance certificate) are not included.

Documents to import include bank documents, customs clearance documents, port and terminal handling documents, and transport documents.


IndicatorName: Time to import (days)

Longdefinition: Time to import is the time necessary to comply with all procedures required to import goods. Time is recorded in calendar days. The time calculation for a procedure starts from the moment it is initiated and runs until it is completed. If a procedure can be accelerated for an additional cost, the fastest legal procedure is chosen. It is assumed that neither the exporter nor the importer wastes time and that each commits to completing each remaining procedure without delay. Procedures that can be completed in parallel are measured as simultaneous. The waiting time between procedures--for example, during unloading of the cargo--is included in the measure.


IndicatorName: Time to import, border compliance (hours)


IndicatorName: Time to import, documentary compliance (hours)


Developmentrelevance:
The economic health of a country is measured not only in macroeconomic terms but also by other factors that shape daily economic activity such as laws, regulations, and institutional arrangements. The data measure business regulation, gauge regulatory outcomes, and measure the extent of legal protection of property, the flexibility of employment regulation, and the tax burden on businesses.

The fundamental premise of this data is that economic activity requires good rules and regulations that are efficient, accessible to all who need to use them, and simple to implement. Thus sometimes there is more emphasis on more regulation, such as stricter disclosure requirements in related-party transactions, and other times emphasis is on for simplified regulations, such as a one-stop shop for completing business startup formalities.

Entrepreneurs may not be aware of all required procedures or may avoid legally required procedures altogether. But where regulation is particularly onerous, levels of informality are higher, which comes at a cost: firms in the informal sector usually grow more slowly, have less access to credit, and employ fewer workers - and those workers remain outside the protections of labor law. The indicator can help policymakers understand the business environment in a country and - along with information from other sources such as the World Bank's Enterprise Surveys - provide insights into potential areas of reform.

IndicatorName: Time to resolve insolvency (years)

Limitationsandexceptions: The Doing Business methodology has limitations that should be considered when interpreting the data. First, the data collected refer to businesses in the economy's largest city and may not represent regulations in other locations of the economy. To address this limitation, subnational indicators are being collected for selected economies. These subnational studies point to significant differences in the speed of reform and the ease of doing business across cities in the same economy. Second, the data often focus on a specific business form - generally a limited liability company of a specified size - and may not represent regulation for other types of businesses such as sole proprietorships. Third, transactions described in a standardized business case refer to a specific set of issues and may not represent the full set of issues a business encounters. Fourth, the time measures involve an element of judgment by the expert respondents. When sources indicate different estimates, the Doing Business time indicators represent the median values of several responses given under the assumptions of the standardized case. Fifth, the methodology assumes that a business has full information on what is required and does not waste time when completing procedures.

Longdefinition: Time to resolve insolvency is the number of years from the filing for insolvency in court until the resolution of distressed assets.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
Data are collected by the World Bank with a standardized survey that uses a simple business case to ensure comparability across economies and over time - with assumptions about the legal form of the business, its size, its location, and nature of its operation. Surveys are administered through more than 9,000 local experts, including lawyers, business consultants, accountants, freight forwarders, government officials, and other professionals who routinely administer or advise on legal and regulatory requirements.

The indicator measures the time, cost, and outcome of insolvency proceedings involving domestic entities. The time required for creditors to recover their credit is recorded in calendar years. The cost of the proceedings is recorded as a percentage of the value of the debtor's estate.

The Doing Business project of the World Bank encompasses two types of data: data from readings of laws and regulations and data on time and motion indicators that measure efficiency in achieving a regulatory goal. Within the time and motion indicators cost estimates are recorded from official fee schedules where applicable. The data from surveys are subjected to numerous tests for robustness, which lead to revision or expansion of the information collected.


Developmentrelevance:
Access to finance can expand opportunities for all with higher levels of access and use of banking services associated with lower financing obstacles for people and businesses. A stable financial system that promotes efficient savings and investment is also crucial for a thriving democracy and market economy.

There are several aspects of access to financial services: availability, cost, and quality of services. The development and growth of credit markets depend on access to timely, reliable, and accurate data on borrowers' credit experiences. Access to credit can be improved by making it easy to create and enforce collateral agreements and by increasing information about potential borrowers' creditworthiness. Lenders look at a borrower's credit history and collateral. Where credit registries and effective collateral laws are absent - as in many developing countries - banks make fewer loans. Indicators that cover getting credit include the strength of legal rights index and the depth of credit information index.

The economic health of a country is measured not only in macroeconomic terms but also by other factors that shape daily economic activity such as laws, regulations, and institutional arrangements. The data measure business regulation, gauge regulatory outcomes, and measure the extent of legal protection of property, the flexibility of employment regulation, and the tax burden on businesses.

The fundamental premise of this data is that economic activity requires good rules and regulations that are efficient, accessible to all who need to use them, and simple to implement. Thus sometimes there is more emphasis on more regulation, such as stricter disclosure requirements in related-party transactions, and other times emphasis is on for simplified regulations, such as a one-stop shop for completing business startup formalities.

Entrepreneurs may not be aware of all required procedures or may avoid legally required procedures altogether. But where regulation is particularly onerous, levels of informality are higher, which comes at a cost: firms in the informal sector usually grow more slowly, have less access to credit, and employ fewer workers - and those workers remain outside the protections of labor law. The indicator can help policymakers understand the business environment in a country and - along with information from other sources such as the World Bank's Enterprise Surveys - provide insights into potential areas of reform.

IndicatorName: Strength of legal rights index (0=weak to 12=strong)

Longdefinition: Strength of legal rights index measures the degree to which collateral and bankruptcy laws protect the rights of borrowers and lenders and thus facilitate lending. The index ranges from 0 to 12, with higher scores indicating that these laws are better designed to expand access to credit.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
Data are collected by the World Bank with a standardized survey that uses a simple business case to ensure comparability across economies and over time - with assumptions about the legal form of the business, its size, its location, and nature of its operation. Surveys are administered through more than 9,000 local experts, including lawyers, business consultants, accountants, freight forwarders, government officials, and other professionals who routinely administer or advise on legal and regulatory requirements.

The Doing Business project of the World Bank encompasses two types of data: data from readings of laws and regulations and data on time and motion indicators that measure efficiency in achieving a regulatory goal. Within the time and motion indicators cost estimates are recorded from official fee schedules where applicable. The data from surveys are subjected to numerous tests for robustness, which lead to revision or expansion of the information collected. Data starting in 2013 reflect the DB15-17 methodology change. For more information on methodology, see http://www.doingbusiness.org/Methodology/getting-credit#legalRights.


IndicatorName: Time required to enforce a contract (days)

Longdefinition: Time required to enforce a contract is the number of calendar days from the filing of the lawsuit in court until the final determination and, in appropriate cases, payment.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
Data are collected by the World Bank with a standardized survey that uses a simple business case to ensure comparability across economies and over time - with assumptions about the legal form of the business, its size, its location, and nature of its operation. Surveys are administered through more than 9,000 local experts, including lawyers, business consultants, accountants, freight forwarders, government officials, and other professionals who routinely administer or advise on legal and regulatory requirements.

A judicial system that provides effective commercial dispute resolution is crucial to a healthy economy. Without one, firms risk finding themselves operating in an environment where compliance with contractual obligations is not the norm.

The Doing Business project of the World Bank encompasses two types of data: data from readings of laws and regulations and data on time and motion indicators that measure efficiency in achieving a regulatory goal. Within the time and motion indicators cost estimates are recorded from official fee schedules where applicable. The data from surveys are subjected to numerous tests for robustness, which lead to revision or expansion of the information collected.


IndicatorName: Procedures to enforce a contract (number)

Longdefinition: Number of procedures to enforce a contract are the number of independent actions, mandated by law or courts, that demand interaction between the parties of a contract or between them and the judge or court officer.


IndicatorName: Time required to register property (days)

Longdefinition: Time required to register property is the number of calendar days needed for businesses to secure rights to property.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
Data are collected by the World Bank with a standardized survey that uses a simple business case to ensure comparability across economies and over time - with assumptions about the legal form of the business, its size, its location, and nature of its operation. Surveys are administered through more than 9,000 local experts, including lawyers, business consultants, accountants, freight forwarders, government officials, and other professionals who routinely administer or advise on legal and regulatory requirements.

The indicator records the procedures necessary for a business to purchase a property from another business and to formally transfer the property title to the buyer's name. The process starts with obtaining the necessary documents, such as a copy of the seller's title, and ends when the buyer is registered as the new owner of the property. Every procedure required by law or necessary in practice is included, whether it is the responsibility of the seller or the buyer and even if it must be completed by a third party on their behalf.

The Doing Business project of the World Bank encompasses two types of data: data from readings of laws and regulations and data on time and motion indicators that measure efficiency in achieving a regulatory goal. Within the time and motion indicators cost estimates are recorded from official fee schedules where applicable. The data from surveys are subjected to numerous tests for robustness, which lead to revision or expansion of the information collected.


IndicatorName: Procedures to register property (number)

Limitationsandexceptions: The Doing Business methodology has limitations that should be considered when interpreting the data. First, the data collected refer to businesses in the economy's largest city and may not represent regulations in other locations of the economy. To address this limitation, subnational indicators are being collected for selected economies. These subnational studies point to significant differences in the speed of reform and the ease of doing business across cities in the same economy. Second, the data often focus on a specific business form - generally a limited liability company of a specified size - and may not represent regulation for other types of businesses such as sole proprietorships. Third, transactions described in a standardized business case refer to a specific set of issues and may not represent the full set of issues a business encounters. Fourth, the time measures involve an element of judgment by the expert respondents. When sources indicate different estimates, the Doing Business time indicators represent the median values of several responses given under the assumptions of the standardized case. Fifth, the methodology assumes that a business has full information on what is required and does not waste time when completing procedures. Please also see: https://www.doingbusiness.org/en/about-us/faq

Longdefinition: Number of procedures to register property is the number of procedures required for a businesses to secure rights to property.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
Data are collected by the World Bank with a standardized survey that uses a simple business case to ensure comparability across economies and over time - with assumptions about the legal form of the business, its size, its location, and nature of its operation. Surveys are administered through more than 9,000 local experts, including lawyers, business consultants, accountants, freight forwarders, government officials, and other professionals who routinely administer or advise on legal and regulatory requirements.

The indicator records the procedures necessary for a business to purchase a property from another business and to formally transfer the property title to the buyer's name. The process starts with obtaining the necessary documents, such as a copy of the seller's title, and ends when the buyer is registered as the new owner of the property. Every procedure required by law or necessary in practice is included, whether it is the responsibility of the seller or the buyer and even if it must be completed by a third party on their behalf.

The Doing Business project of the World Bank encompasses two types of data: data from readings of laws and regulations and data on time and motion indicators that measure efficiency in achieving a regulatory goal. Within the time and motion indicators cost estimates are recorded from official fee schedules where applicable. The data from surveys are subjected to numerous tests for robustness, which lead to revision or expansion of the information collected. Data starting in 2015 reflect the DB15-17 methodology change. Please also see: https://www.doingbusiness.org/en/methodology/registering-property


IndicatorName: Cost of business start-up procedures, female (% of GNI per capita)

Longdefinition: Cost to register a business is normalized by presenting it as a percentage of gross national income (GNI) per capita.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
Data are collected by the World Bank with a standardized survey that uses a simple business case to ensure comparability across economies and over time - with assumptions about the legal form of the business, its size, its location, and nature of its operation. Surveys are administered through more than 9,000 local experts, including lawyers, business consultants, accountants, freight forwarders, government officials, and other professionals who routinely administer or advise on legal and regulatory requirements.

Entrepreneurs around the world face a range of challenges. One of them is inefficient regulation. This indicator measures the number of procedures, time, cost and paid-in minimum capital requirement for a small- to medium-size limited liability company to start up and formally operate in each economy’s largest business city. To make the data comparable across 190 economies, Doing Business uses a standardized business that is 100% domestically owned, has a start-up capital equivalent to 10 times the income per capita, engages in general industrial or commercial activities and employs between 10 and 50 people one month after the commencement of operations, all of whom are domestic nationals.  The starting a business indicators consider two cases of local limited liability companies that are identical in all aspects, except that one company is owned by five married women and the other by five married men.

The Doing Business project of the World Bank encompasses two types of data: data from readings of laws and regulations and data on time and motion indicators that measure efficiency in achieving a regulatory goal. Within the time and motion indicators cost estimates are recorded from official fee schedules where applicable. The data from surveys are subjected to numerous tests for robustness, which lead to revision or expansion of the information collected.


IndicatorName: Cost of business start-up procedures, male (% of GNI per capita)

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
Data are collected by the World Bank with a standardized survey that uses a simple business case to ensure comparability across economies and over time - with assumptions about the legal form of the business, its size, its location, and nature of its operation. Surveys are administered through more than 9,000 local experts, including lawyers, business consultants, accountants, freight forwarders, government officials, and other professionals who routinely administer or advise on legal and regulatory requirements.

Entrepreneurs around the world face a range of challenges. One of them is inefficient regulation. This indicator measures the paid-in minimum capital requirement for a small- to medium-size limited liability company to start up and formally operate in each economy’s largest business city.  To make the data comparable across 190 economies, Doing Business uses a standardized business that is 100% domestically owned, has a start-up capital equivalent to 10 times the income per capita, engages in general industrial or commercial activities and employs between 10 and 50 people one month after the commencement of operations, all of whom are domestic nationals.  The starting a business indicators consider two cases of local limited liability companies that are identical in all aspects, except that one company is owned by five married women and the other by five married men.

The Doing Business project of the World Bank encompasses two types of data: data from readings of laws and regulations and data on time and motion indicators that measure efficiency in achieving a regulatory goal. Within the time and motion indicators cost estimates are recorded from official fee schedules where applicable. The data from surveys are subjected to numerous tests for robustness, which lead to revision or expansion of the information collected.


IndicatorName: Cost of business start-up procedures (% of GNI per capita)

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
Data are collected by the World Bank with a standardized survey that uses a simple business case to ensure comparability across economies and over time - with assumptions about the legal form of the business, its size, its location, and nature of its operation. Surveys are administered through more than 9,000 local experts, including lawyers, business consultants, accountants, freight forwarders, government officials, and other professionals who routinely administer or advise on legal and regulatory requirements.

Entrepreneurs around the world face a range of challenges. One of them is inefficient regulation. The indicator measures the procedures, time, cost and paid-in minimum capital required for a small or medium-size limited liability company to start up and formally operate.

The Doing Business project of the World Bank encompasses two types of data: data from readings of laws and regulations and data on time and motion indicators that measure efficiency in achieving a regulatory goal. Within the time and motion indicators cost estimates are recorded from official fee schedules where applicable. The data from surveys are subjected to numerous tests for robustness, which lead to revision or expansion of the information collected.


IndicatorName: Time required to start a business (days)

Longdefinition: Time required to start a business is the number of calendar days needed to complete the procedures to legally operate a business. If a procedure can be speeded up at additional cost, the fastest procedure, independent of cost, is chosen.


IndicatorName: Time required to start a business, female (days)

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
Data are collected by the World Bank with a standardized survey that uses a simple business case to ensure comparability across economies and over time - with assumptions about the legal form of the business, its size, its location, and nature of its operation. Surveys are administered through more than 9,000 local experts, including lawyers, business consultants, accountants, freight forwarders, government officials, and other professionals who routinely administer or advise on legal and regulatory requirements.

Entrepreneurs around the world face a range of challenges. One of them is inefficient regulation. This indicator measures the time for a small- to medium-size limited liability company to start up and formally operate in each economy’s largest business city.  To make the data comparable across 190 economies, Doing Business uses a standardized business that is 100% domestically owned, has a start-up capital equivalent to 10 times the income per capita, engages in general industrial or commercial activities and employs between 10 and 50 people one month after the commencement of operations, all of whom are domestic nationals.  The starting a business indicators consider two cases of local limited liability companies that are identical in all aspects, except that one company is owned by five married women and the other by five married men.

The Doing Business project of the World Bank encompasses two types of data: data from readings of laws and regulations and data on time and motion indicators that measure efficiency in achieving a regulatory goal. Within the time and motion indicators cost estimates are recorded from official fee schedules where applicable. The data from surveys are subjected to numerous tests for robustness, which lead to revision or expansion of the information collected.


Developmentrelevance:
The economic health of a country is measured not only in macroeconomic terms but also by other factors that shape daily economic activity such as laws, regulations, and institutional arrangements. The Doing Business data measure business regulation, gauge regulatory outcomes, and measure the extent of legal protection of property, the flexibility of employment regulation, and the tax burden on businesses.

The fundamental premise of this data is that economic activity requires good rules and regulations that are efficient, accessible to all who need to use them, and simple to implement. Thus sometimes there is more emphasis on more regulation, such as stricter disclosure requirements in related-party transactions, and other times emphasis is on for simplified regulations, such as a one-stop shop for completing business startup formalities.

Entrepreneurs may not be aware of all required procedures or may avoid legally required procedures altogether. But where regulation is particularly onerous, levels of informality are higher, which comes at a cost: firms in the informal sector usually grow more slowly, have less access to credit, and employ fewer workers - and those workers remain outside the protections of labor law. The indicator can help policymakers understand the business environment in a country and - along with information from other sources such as the World Bank's Enterprise Surveys - provide insights into potential areas of reform.

IndicatorName: Time required to start a business, male (days)


IndicatorName: Start-up procedures to register a business (number)

Longdefinition: Start-up procedures are those required to start a business, including interactions to obtain necessary permits and licenses and to complete all inscriptions, verifications, and notifications to start operations. Data are for businesses with specific characteristics of ownership, size, and type of production.


IndicatorName: Start-up procedures to register a business, female (number)

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
Data are collected by the World Bank with a standardized survey that uses a simple business case to ensure comparability across economies and over time - with assumptions about the legal form of the business, its size, its location, and nature of its operation. Surveys are administered through more than 9,000 local experts, including lawyers, business consultants, accountants, freight forwarders, government officials, and other professionals who routinely administer or advise on legal and regulatory requirements.

Entrepreneurs around the world face a range of challenges. One of them is inefficient regulation. This indicator measures the number of procedure for a small- to medium-size limited liability company to start up and formally operate in each economy’s largest business city.  To make the data comparable across 190 economies, Doing Business uses a standardized business that is 100% domestically owned, has a start-up capital equivalent to 10 times the income per capita, engages in general industrial or commercial activities and employs between 10 and 50 people one month after the commencement of operations, all of whom are domestic nationals.  The starting a business indicators consider two cases of local limited liability companies that are identical in all aspects, except that one company is owned by five married women and the other by five married men.

The Doing Business project of the World Bank encompasses two types of data: data from readings of laws and regulations and data on time and motion indicators that measure efficiency in achieving a regulatory goal. Within the time and motion indicators cost estimates are recorded from official fee schedules where applicable. The data from surveys are subjected to numerous tests for robustness, which lead to revision or expansion of the information collected.


IndicatorName: Start-up procedures to register a business, male (number)

Statisticalconceptandmethodology: This indicator measures the number of procedures for a small- to medium-size limited liability company to start up and formally operate in each economy’s largest business city.  To make the data comparable across 190 economies, Doing Business uses a standardized business that is 100% domestically owned, has a start-up capital equivalent to 10 times the income per capita, engages in general industrial or commercial activities and employs between 10 and 50 people one month after the commencement of operations, all of whom are domestic nationals. The starting a business indicators consider two cases of local limited liability companies that are identical in all aspects, except that one company is owned by five married women and the other by five married men.


IndicatorName: Micro, small and medium enterprises (number)

Longdefinition: Micro, small, and medium-size enterprises are business that may be defined by the number of employees. There is no international standard definition of firm size; however, many institutions that collect information use the following size categories: micro enterprises have 0-9 employees, small enterprises have 10-49 employees, and medium-size enterprises have 50-249 employees.

Source: International Finance Corporation's micro, small, and medium-size enterprises database (http://www.ifc.org/ifcext/sme.nsf/Content/Resources).


IndicatorName: Micro, small and medium enterprises (per 1,000 people)


Developmentrelevance:
The total tax rate payable by businesses provides a comprehensive measure of the cost of all the taxes a business bears. It differs from the statutory tax rate, which is the factor applied to the tax base. In computing business tax rates, actual tax payable is divided by commercial profit.

Taxes are the main source of revenue for most governments. The sources of tax revenue and their relative contributions are determined by government policy choices about where and how to impose taxes and by changes in the structure of the economy. Tax policy may reflect concerns about distributional effects, economic efficiency (including corrections for externalities), and the practical problems of administering a tax system. There is no ideal level of taxation. But taxes influence incentives and thus the behavior of economic actors and the economy's competitiveness.

IndicatorName: Time to prepare and pay taxes (hours)

Limitationsandexceptions:
To make the data comparable across countries, several assumptions are made about businesses. The main assumptions are that they are limited liability companies, they operate in the country's most populous city, they are domestically owned, they perform general industrial or commercial activities, and they have certain levels of start-up capital, employees, and turnover.

The Doing Business methodology on business taxes is consistent with the Total Tax Contribution framework developed by PricewaterhouseCoopers (now PwC), which measures the taxes that are borne by companies and that affect their income statements. However, PwC bases its calculation on data from the largest companies in the economy, while Doing Business focuses on a standardized medium-size company.

Longdefinition: Time to prepare and pay taxes is the time, in hours per year, it takes to prepare, file, and pay (or withhold) three major types of taxes: the corporate income tax, the value added or sales tax, and labor taxes, including payroll taxes and social security contributions.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
The data covering taxes payable by businesses, measure all taxes and contributions that are government mandated (at any level - federal, state, or local), apply to standardized businesses, and have an impact in their income statements. The taxes covered go beyond the definition of a tax for government national accounts (compulsory, unrequited payments to general government) and also measure any imposts that affect business accounts. The main differences are in labor contributions and value added taxes.

The data account for government-mandated contributions paid by the employer to a requited private pension fund or workers insurance fund but exclude value added taxes because they do not affect the accounting profits of the business - that is, they are not reflected in the income statement.


IndicatorName: Firms expected to give gifts in meetings with tax officials (% of firms)

Longdefinition: Firms expected to give gifts in meetings with tax officials is the percentage of firms that answered positively to the question "was a gift or informal payment expected or requested during a meeting with tax officials?"


IndicatorName: Labor tax and contributions (% of commercial profits)

Longdefinition: Labor tax and contributions is the amount of taxes and mandatory contributions on labor paid by the business.


IndicatorName: Number of visits or required meetings with tax officials (average for affected firms)

Longdefinition: Average number of visits or required meetings with tax officials during the year. The value represents the average number of visits for all firms which reported being visited or required to meet with tax officials (please see indicator IC.FRM.METG.ZS).


Developmentrelevance:
Low ratios of tax revenue to GDP may reflect weak administration and large-scale tax avoidance or evasion. Low ratios may also reflect a sizable parallel economy with unrecorded and undisclosed incomes. Tax revenue ratios tend to rise with income, with higher income countries relying on taxes to finance a much broader range of social services and social security than lower income countries are able to. The total tax rate payable by businesses provides a comprehensive measure of the cost of all the taxes a business bears. It differs from the statutory tax rate, which is the factor applied to the tax base. In computing business tax rates, actual tax payable is divided by commercial profit.

Taxes are the main source of revenue for most governments. The sources of tax revenue and their relative contributions are determined by government policy choices about where and how to impose taxes and by changes in the structure of the economy. Tax policy may reflect concerns about distributional effects, economic efficiency (including corrections for externalities), and the practical problems of administering a tax system. There is no ideal level of taxation. But taxes influence incentives and thus the behavior of economic actors and the economy's competitiveness.

IndicatorName: Other taxes payable by businesses (% of commercial profits)

Longdefinition: Other taxes payable by businesses include the amounts paid for property taxes, turnover taxes, and other small taxes such as municipal fees and vehicle and fuel taxes.


IndicatorName: Tax payments (number)

Longdefinition: Tax payments by businesses are the total number of taxes paid by businesses, including electronic filing. The tax is counted as paid once a year even if payments are more frequent.


IndicatorName: Profit tax (% of commercial profits)

Longdefinition: Profit tax is the amount of taxes on profits paid by the business.


IndicatorName: Total tax and contribution rate (% of profit)

Longdefinition: Total tax rate measures the amount of taxes and mandatory contributions payable by businesses after accounting for allowable deductions and exemptions as a share of commercial profits. Taxes withheld (such as personal income tax) or collected and remitted to tax authorities (such as value added taxes, sales taxes or goods and service taxes) are excluded.


IndicatorName: Time required to build a warehouse (days)

Longdefinition: Time required to build a warehouse is the number of calendar days needed to complete the required procedures for building a warehouse. If a procedure can be speeded up at additional cost, the fastest procedure, independent of cost, is chosen.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
Data are collected by the World Bank with a standardized survey that uses a simple business case to ensure comparability across economies and over time - with assumptions about the legal form of the business, its size, its location, and nature of its operation. Surveys are administered through more than 9,000 local experts, including lawyers, business consultants, accountants, freight forwarders, government officials, and other professionals who routinely administer or advise on legal and regulatory requirements.

To build a simple commercial warehouse and connect it to water, sewerage and a fixed telephone line, many construction regulations are required. Construction regulation matters for public safety. If procedures are too complicated or costly, builders tend to proceed without a permit. By some estimates 60-80 percent of building projects in developing economies are undertaken without the proper permits and approvals. Good regulations help ensure the safety standards that protect the public while making the permitting process efficient, transparent and affordable. Time is recorded in calendar days. The measure captures the median duration that local experts indicate is necessary to complete a procedure in practice. It is assumed that the minimum time required for each procedure is one day, except for procedures that can be fully completed online, for which the time required is recorded as half a day. Although procedures may take place simultaneously, they cannot start on the same day (that is, simultaneous procedures start on consecutive days), again with the exception of procedures that can be fully completed online. If a procedure can be accelerated legally for an additional cost, the fastest procedure is chosen if that option is more bene?cial to the economy’s score. It is assumed that BuildCo does not waste time and commits to completing each remaining procedure without delay. The time that BuildCo spends on gathering information is not taken into account. It is assumed that BuildCo follows all building requirements and their sequence as required. Data starting in 2014 reflect the DB15-17 methodology change.

The Doing Business project of the World Bank encompasses two types of data: data from readings of laws and regulations and data on time and motion indicators that measure efficiency in achieving a regulatory goal. Within the time and motion indicators cost estimates are recorded from official fee schedules where applicable. The data from surveys are subjected to numerous tests for robustness, which lead to revision or expansion of the information collected. Please also see: https://www.doingbusiness.org/en/methodology/dealing-with-construction-permits


IndicatorName: Procedures to build a warehouse (number)

Longdefinition: Number of procedures to build a warehouse is the number of interactions of a company's employees or managers with external parties, including government agency staff, public inspectors, notaries, land registry and cadastre staff, and technical experts apart from architects and engineers.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
Data are collected by the World Bank with a standardized survey that uses a simple business case to ensure comparability across economies and over time - with assumptions about the legal form of the business, its size, its location, and nature of its operation. Surveys are administered through more than 9,000 local experts, including lawyers, business consultants, accountants, freight forwarders, government officials, and other professionals who routinely administer or advise on legal and regulatory requirements.

To build a simple commercial warehouse and connect it to water, sewerage and a fixed telephone line, many construction regulations are required. Construction regulation matters for public safety. If procedures are too complicated or costly, builders tend to proceed without a permit. By some estimates 60-80 percent of building projects in developing economies are undertaken without the proper permits and approvals. Good regulations help ensure the safety standards that protect the public while making the permitting process efficient, transparent and affordable. A procedure is any interaction of the building company’s employees, managers, or any party acting on behalf of the company, with external parties, including government agencies, notaries, the land registry, the cadastre, utility companies and public inspectors—and the hiring of external private inspectors and technical experts where needed. Interactions between company employees, such as development of the warehouse plans and inspections by the in-house engineer, are not counted as procedures. However, interactions with external parties that are required for the architect to prepare the plans and drawings (such as obtaining topographic or geological surveys), or to have such documents approved or stamped by external parties, are counted as procedures. Procedures that the company undergoes to connect the warehouse to water and sewerage are included. All procedures that are legally required and that are done in practice by the majority of companies to build a warehouse are counted, even if they may be avoided in exceptional cases. For example, obtaining technical conditions for electricity or a clearance of the electrical plans are counted as separate procedures if they are required for obtaining a building permit. Data starting in 2014 reflect the DB15-17 methodology change.

The Doing Business project of the World Bank encompasses two types of data: data from readings of laws and regulations and data on time and motion indicators that measure efficiency in achieving a regulatory goal. Within the time and motion indicators cost estimates are recorded from official fee schedules where applicable. The data from surveys are subjected to numerous tests for robustness, which lead to revision or expansion of the information collected. Please also see: https://www.doingbusiness.org/en/methodology/dealing-with-construction-permits