What is the ease of doing business index?

"Ease of Doing Business Index" (also known as Doing Business Index or Doing Business Ranking) is a project of the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) that measures how easy or difficult it is for an enterprise to conduct business in a particular country based on legislation, regulation, and the enforcement thereof. The index focuses primarily on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The aim of the index is to provide objective metrics that can help improve legislation and regulation so that economic activities can better flourish. 11 sets of indicators are used to measure how simple it is, for example, to start a company, obtain building permits, arrange an electricity connection, register land, obtain credit, and enforce contracts.

The index provides annual insight into the degree of transparency, efficiency, and certainty with which business can be conducted in a country. The report is published every year around the end of October and offers countries the opportunity to compare and improve their investment climate.