Doing Business: Croatia 40th among 189 countries in ease of doing business

Croatia has ranked 40th among a total of 189 countries in the latest World Bank report “Doing Business 2016,” according to the new methodology regarding business conditions.

In the latest report “Doing Business 2016,” the World Bank has revised its methodology, thus last year Croatia ranked 39th according to the revised methodology, not 65th as initially published.

The World Bank notes that the latest report was prepared using an improved methodology. The report covers the period from June 1, 2014, to June 1, 2015.

Croatia ranks 40th in ease of doing business with 72.71 DTF points, which is almost unchanged compared to the previous year when, under the revised methodology, it had 72.50 points. This refers to the so-called DTF (Distance to frontier) scoring, which shows how far each country is in 10 monitored areas from those that are best ranked in those areas, with 100 points being the maximum and 0 points being the weakest result.

In the category of international trade for 2016, Croatia recorded a maximum of 100 points and is among the most successful in that category. In contract enforcement, it ranked 10th. Following is the protection of minority shareholders, ranked 29th.

In tax payment, Croatia ranks 38th, in resolving insolvency 59th, and in property registration 60th. It ranks 66th in the availability of electricity, 70th in the availability of credit, and 83rd in starting a business.

Croatia’s weakest ranking is in issuing building permits, where it ranks 129th out of 189 countries.

Singapore again at the top

Singapore has confirmed its status as the country with the most favorable business conditions, according to the World Bank report. New Zealand is in second place, Denmark in third, South Korea in fourth, and Hong Kong in fifth.

European countries make up half of the top 10 ranked, with the United Kingdom in sixth place and the Nordic countries Sweden, Norway, and Finland taking eighth, ninth, and tenth places respectively.

The United States is in seventh place.

Among the regions that led in improving the regulatory environment, the authors of the report highlighted, along with Sub-Saharan Africa, the region encompassing Europe and Central Asia, which includes, among others, Croatia.

At the global level, the region of Europe and Central Asia stands out for its lowest costs and short property registration process, which takes only 22 days. However, the most significant issues arise from the lengthy process of obtaining an electricity connection, which on average takes 119 days. The quality of supply is generally good, and interruptions and disturbances are few.

Among the countries in the region, Kazakhstan has taken the title of leading reformer, with the World Bank highlighting the elimination of unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles in several areas, including business establishment, property registration, and contract enforcement.

The best ranking on the global scale among the countries of Europe and Central Asia was achieved by Macedonia, which ranked 12th. Lithuania and Latvia follow in 20th and 22nd places respectively.

On the global scale, Slovenia ranks ahead of Croatia in 29th place, followed by Romania and Bulgaria in 37th and 38th places, while Hungary ranks 42nd, Italy 45th, and Montenegro 46th, Serbia 59th, and Bosnia and Herzegovina 79th.

– It is commendable that in the past year almost every individual economy in Europe and Central Asia has implemented at least one reform to improve the business environment – concludes the director of the “Business Conditions” project, Rita Ramalho.

At the bottom of the global ranking are Eritrea, Libya, South Sudan, and Venezuela.

The World Bank emphasizes that the latest report concludes a two-year process of refining the methodology, which aimed to emphasize not only the efficiency of regulations but also their quality.