Doing Business in 2011

A copublication of The World Bank and the International Finance Corporation. Doing Business 2011 is the eighth in a series of annual reports investigating the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it. Doing Business presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 183 economies—from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe— and over time. Regulations affecting 11 areas of the life of a business are covered: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, closing a business, getting electricity and employing workers. The getting electricity and employing workers data are not included in the ranking on the ease of doing business in Doing Business 2011. Data in Doing Business 2011 are current as of June 1, 2010. The indicators are used to analyze economic outcomes and identify what reforms have worked, where and why. The methodology for the employing workers indicators changed for Doing Business 2011. See Data notes for details.