Relatively low initial costs and streamlined procedures make countries in Asia attractive to entrepreneurs. In 2014, more than a quarter of new business registrations occurred in East Asian and Pacific nations, according to the World Bank.
Globally, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development reports that “new enterprise creations have been on an upward trend,” though not quite back to levels seen before the financial crisis. Interest in large manufacturing enterprises has decreased while small service industry shops continue to pop up.
While Thailand took the No. 1 spot for the second year in a row, it faces strong competition from a crop of both established and developing regional neighbors. China jumped up three spots from last year to No. 2, and Indonesia and Vietnam both cracked the top 10 for the first time.
The U.S. fell two spots to No. 9. High levels of perceived bureaucracy in nations like Russia, Belarus and Serbia brought them toward the bottom of the list. Nations in the Middle East also ranked poorly in the U.S. News Best Countries to Start a Business, with Iran landing in the last spot for the second year in a row.
The 2017 Best Countries rankings, formed in partnership with global marketing communications company Y&R’s brand strategy firm, BAV Consulting, and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, asked more than 21,000 survey participants from four regions to associate 80 countries — up from 60 last year — with specific attributes.
The Best Countries to Start a Business are ranked based on scores from more than 6,000 business decision-makers on a compilation of five equally weighted country attributes: affordable, bureaucratic, cheap manufacturing costs, connected to the rest of the world and provides easy access to capital.
See the full list of Best Countries to Start a Business here.
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Best Countries to Start a Business originally appeared on usnews.com
