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Which Country is the Cheapest for Starting a Business?

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Cost of Starting A Business By Country Full

Which Country is the Cheapest for Starting A Business?

Starting a new business isn’t as simple as coming up with an idea.

In addition to the time investment needed to formulate and create a business, there’s often a hefty capital requirement. A new business usually requires paying different fees for licensing, permits, and approvals, and many governments also have minimum on-hand capital requirements.

And costs are relative. Though it might be more costly to start a business in some countries on paper, affordability also takes into account relative income.

These graphics from BusinessFinancing.co.uk use data from the World Bank’s Doing Business 2020 report to examine the startup cost for a small-to-medium-size LLC in the largest business cities across 190 countries.

The Cost of Starting a Business in Different Countries

From a pure cost perspective, the affordability of starting a business is extremely dependent on where you are located.

Some countries make the cost of business extremely low to encourage more economic activity. Others have high or nearly inaccessible fees to protect existing businesses, or to simply cash in on the entrepreneurial spirit.

CountryCost (2020 USD)% of Monthly Income
Venezuela0-%
Rwanda0-%
Slovenia0-%
Kyrgyzstan80.1
Sudan80.13
Timor Leste100.09
Azerbaijan110.04
Kazakhstan120.02
Ukraine120.06
Egypt130.07
South Africa130.03
Mauritania140.12
Uzbekistan140.13
Chile160.02
United Kingdom170.01
Belarus180.04
Pakistan200.16
Croatia270.03
Sierra Leone290.81
Armenia300.1
Burundi301.77
Iran310.09
Benin320.38
Liberia320.87
Niger320.78
Afghanistan330.86
Georgia330.1
Mongolia370.17
Romania380.05
Botswana400.08
New Zealand430.02
South Korea470.02
Kosovo49-%
Angola540.63
Togo561.29
Indonesia740.3
Bulgaria750.11
Moldova760.24
Mozambique762.09
Russia770.11
Congo (Democratic Republic of the)802.39
Ireland860.02
Lesotho860.89
Mauritius860.1
Lithuania900.07
Tunisia930.42
Belize990.33
Bhutan1000.45
Madagascar1002.72
Laos1050.68
Montenegro1050.16
Denmark1100.02
Serbia1120.24
Trinidad and Tobago1150.1
Malawi1174.72
Morocco1200.52
Zambia1201.28
Cameroon1251.24
Ghana1251.03
Vietnam1280.73
Tajikistan1361.86
China1380.21
India1420.98
Bangladesh1491.11
Ethiopia1503.21
Honduras1520.85
Czech Republic1580.13
Uganda1633.67
Canada1650.05
Argentina1670.21
Eritrea1744.63
Kiribati1740.7
Estonia1760.11
Sri Lanka1760.56
Turkey1770.28
Myanmar1791.73
Nepal1862.43
Jamaica1890.48
Thailand2010.43
North Macedonia2020.52
Algeria2030.79
Comoros2041.9
Greece2040.14
Slovakia2090.17
Brazil2180.35
Nigeria2231.68
Bahrain2310.14
Micronesia, Federated States of2310.82
Paraguay2320.61
Dominican Republic2330.39
Singapore2380.06
Taiwan239-%
Sweden2590.07
Tonga2620.78
Portugal2680.17
Latvia2870.25
Samoa2961
France3180.11
Tanzania3224.55
The Gambia3266.71
Libya3280.59
Guinea-Bissau3325.72
Senegal3433.35
Kenya3533.01
Peru3550.77
Costa Rica3630.4
Colombia3640.85
Brunei3660.18
Hungary3690.34
South Sudan3735.31
Palau375-%
Australia3770.1
Guinea3806.42
Poland3870.36
Philippines3891.44
Swaziland (Eswatini)4251.59
Guyana4361.29
Namibia4461.15
Papua New Guinea4592.71
Vanuatu4842.04
Mali4938.02
Oman5020.65
Hong Kong5121.2
Germany5240.16
Central African Republic52914.55
Malaysia5670.83
Zimbabwe5765.01
Chad59113.58
Albania5971.71
Marshall Islands610-%
Malta620-%
Japan6410.24
Fiji7051.65
United States of America7250.16
Panama7300.66
Spain7360.34
Cambodia7467.55
Finland7970.23
Yemen80810.7
Kuwait8140.31
Guatemala8192.63
Bosnia and Herzegovina8331.93
Seychelles8420.75
Jordan8602.67
Somalia900-%
Haiti94114.03
Gabon9472.18
Nicaragua9486.6
El Salvador9753.53
Dominica10732.31
Iceland10890.23
Barbados11590.92
Congo (Republic of the)122925.46
Israel12410.41
Saudi Arabia12670.81
Antigua and Barbuda1271-%
Bolivia12935.67
Luxembourg13430.27
Uruguay13441.13
Syria139210.41
Grenada1410-%
Mexico14502.34
Switzerland14630.27
Norway14820.27
Iraq15734.34
Cyprus15760.72
Liechtenstein1619-%
Ecuador16304.23
Bahamas18100.89
Netherlands21900.59
Equatorial Guinea23227.18
Belgium24020.74
Austria24750.71
Lebanon28555.35
Suriname303011.14
Qatar39520.92
San Marino4672-%
Italy48762.02
United Arab Emirates74442.23

At a glance, the cheapest regions for starting a business include Central Asia and Africa.

But the cheapest countries on the dollar for a new startup are Venezuela, Rwanda, and Slovenia. While the former does have fees that only total $0.21, both Rwanda and Slovenia have no fees for new businesses, though Slovenia does have a capital requirement of €7,500.

Expensive countries for new businesses are also spread across the world. There are some in Europe, including Italy at $4,876 and Austria at $2,475, as well as the Americas, including Suriname at $3,030 and Ecuador at $1,630.

The most expensive countries, however, are largely in the Middle East. They include #1 UAE at $7,444, #4 Qatar at $3,952, and #6 Lebanon at $2,855.

Which Country is the Most Affordable for Starting a Business?

Just as costs vary by country, so too does relative affordability.

Though some countries are cheaper than others for starting a business on the dollar, the picture changes when accounting for monthly income. When it comes to the cost of starting a business relative to monthly income, many developed countries take the cake.

Not including countries with missing data, the most affordable countries for starting a business include the UK, Denmark, and Ireland in Europe, South Korea in East Asia, and New Zealand in Oceania. Startup costs in each range from just 1%-2% of monthly income.

The picture is similar in the Americas, where Chile and Canada have the lowest relative fees at 2% and 5% of monthly income respectively. Even the U.S.—which has a decently high cost of $725 for starting a business—is relatively affordable at 16% of monthly income.

Some of the least affordable countries lie in the Middle-East and Central America. Haiti and Suriname have startup costs that are 1,403% and 1,114% of monthly income, while Yemen has affordability rates of 1,070%.

But the least affordable countries are in Africa. Many countries on the continent have startup costs that are more than 100% of monthly income, but the Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic have affordability rates of 2,546% and 1,455% of monthly income, respectively.

Where is the best place to start a business? It can depend on the barrier to entry. But the biggest barrier takes time and ingenuity: finding the right idea at the right time.

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Markets

Confidence in the Global Economy, by Country

Will the global economy be stronger in 2024 than in 2023?

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chart of confidence in the economy by country

Confidence in the Global Economy, by Country

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Measuring consumer confidence in the economy is crucial for understanding both current economic strength, as well as how consumers may be expected to act in the future.

So how do people around the world feel about the global economy?

This visualization uses survey data collected from October 20 to November 3, 2023 by Ipsos. It was first highlighted as part of our 2024 Global Forecast Series.

Which Countries Feel Confident About the Economy in 2024?

Heading into 2024, an average of 50% of polled adults felt confident that the global economy would be stronger than in 2023. But breaking down responses by country shows a vast disparity between responses.

Here are the percentage of respondents who agreed with the following statement: “The global economy will be stronger in 2024 than it was in 2023.” We also note the change in percentage points (p.p.) compared with the same question a year prior.

CountryAgreeChange (Year-over-year)
🇮🇳 India85%+12 p.p.
🇮🇩 Indonesia82%+14 p.p.
🇨🇳 China82%+4 p.p.
🇵🇭 Philippines74%N/A
🇹🇭 Thailand68%+4 p.p.
🇲🇾 Malaysia62%+8 p.p.
🇲🇽 Mexico62%+6 p.p.
🇧🇷 Brazil60%-13 p.p.
🇸🇬 Singapore59%+4 p.p.
🇵🇱 Poland56%+20 p.p.
🇳🇿 New Zealand56%N/A
🇨🇴 Colombia54%+5 p.p.
🇨🇱 Chile51%+8 p.p.
🇵🇪 Peru51%-3 p.p.
🇦🇷 Argentina51%+3 p.p.
🇿🇦 South Africa49%+2 p.p.
🇦🇺 Australia48%+7 p.p.
🇭🇺 Hungary46%+15 p.p.
🇷🇴 Romania45%+8 p.p.
🇺🇸 United States45%+3 p.p.
🇪🇸 Spain44%+8 p.p.
🇳🇱 Netherlands44%+12 p.p.
🇹🇷 Türkiye43%0 p.p.
🇬🇧 Great Britain43%+11 p.p.
🇨🇭 Switzerland43%+8 p.p.
🇮🇹 Italy40%+8 p.p.
🇩🇪 Germany40%+3 p.p.
🇨🇦 Canada39%+2 p.p.
🇸🇪 Sweden34%+1 p.p.
🇫🇷 France33%+4 p.p.
🇰🇷 South Korea33%-5 p.p.
🇵🇹 Portugal33%N/A
🇯🇵 Japan30%0 p.p.
🌍 Global average50%+4 p.p.

At the top, India, Indonesia, and China stood as being the most confident about 2024’s economic prospects. 85% of Indian respondents agreed that the global economy will be stronger in 2024 than in 2023, while 82% of Chinese and Indonesian respondents felt the same.

Regional disparities also become evident, with Asian countries making up the top five most confident countries and seven out of the top nine. In fact, South Korea and Japan were the only Asian countries surveyed that were not feeling confident, with Japanese respondents being the least confident (30%) and South Koreans tied for the second-least confident (33%).

Countries in South America ranged from Brazil having a high of 60% of respondents agree with 2024 being stronger than 2023 to Chile having a “low” of 51%. North American countries were more split, with Mexico feeling more confident and Canada feeling less confident.

Lastly, Europe stood out as being the least confident in the global economy in 2024. Only Poland (56%) had more than 50% agree that this year would be better than the last, while major economies like Germany (40%) and France (33%) sat closer to the bottom of the table.

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