Macedonia Leads Balkans in "Doing Business"

04 Nov 2010 / 16:22

The business environments in Balkan countries fall across a wide range in the "Doing Business 2011" report, published on Thursday by the World Bank, as governments in the region attempt to recover from the effects of the global economic crisis.


Macedonia hit the top for Balkan states, ranking 38 out of the 183 countries surveyed, followed by Bulgaria and Romania at 51 and 56. Kosovo was listed at the bottom for states in the region at 119, less than 10 spots lower than Bosnia and Herzegovina.Only two countries in the region, Serbia and Croatia, improved on their ranking from last year, while other countries dropped slightly or retained their previous ranking.
The Doing Business report looks at the regulations applied to businesses in countries throughout the world, considering indicators from launching a company to getting construction permits, registering property, getting credit and closing down a firm, and evaluates the business environment in each state.
Despite limited improvements in overall rankings for Balkan countries in the 2011 survey, the report's authors do note that "the region's policy makers have been the most active in implementing business regulation reforms" since "Doing Business" began evaluating countries in 2004.
The report notes that governments in the Balkans made improvements to insolvency measures, and many countries in the region made it easier to start up companies and pay taxes.
Singapore topped the 2010 global ranking, with the U.K. at number 4 and the U.S. at number 5. Chad was ranked last in this year's report.
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