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The World Bank's report on 183 economies
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Let's say you have a great idea for starting a new business in Africa, but you're not sure which country offers the best opportunity. You want an easy way to compare different countries in terms of the costs and ease of doing business. You want information about starting a business there and about such subjects as moving goods, customs, taxes, contract enforcement and protection for investors. You also want to be sure that the information is being provided by sources with good solid experience in that country. Where do you start your research? I recommend the World Bank's annual "Doing Business" report. It's a treasure trove of information, and it's free! Just go to www.doingbusiness.org.
The report is best known for its rankings on the ease of doing business within 183 economies, which is something like checking baseball statistics for the league leaders in batting average and home runs. The overall rankings are based on a country's rating in nine categories.
Singapore filled its customary first place position in the overall rankings in the most recent report, "Doing Business 2011: Making a Difference for Entrepreneurs," which was issued last November. The Asian city-state also scored first in the category called "trading across borders." Mauritius was the top-rated African country, coming in at No. 20 in "ease of doing business"; Botswana at No. 21 for "paying taxes." The U.S. ranked fifth in the "ease of doing business" category.
The report also has regional breakdowns for sub-Saharan Africa, East Asia, South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Eastern Europe.
The rankings are valuable, but in a sense they're like a spectator sport. If you're actually looking to do business,...