Macedonia is ranked 32nd of the 183 economies covered by the World Bank Doing Business 2010 report, 37 places up from 69th a year earlier.
Macedonia is also ranked third among the global top ten reformers.
Macedonia’s ranking in the Doing Business 2010 report makes it the highest- ranked country in the region – Bulgaria (44th), Slovenia (53rd), Romania (55th), Montenegro (71st), Turkey (73rd), Albania (82nd), Serbia (88th), Croatia (103rd), Greece (109th), Kosovo (113th), Bosnia and Herzegovina (116th).
Doing Business analyzes regulations affecting the small to medium-size firm - business start-up and operations, trading across borders, paying taxes, and closure. The ease of doing business index ranks economies from one to 183.
Singapore ranks top on the ease of doing business. New Zealand is runner-up. Hong Kong, US, United Kingdom, Denmark, Iceland, Canada, Australia and Norway have also received high ratings.
The Central-African Republic, Congo, The Democratic Republic of Guinea-Bissau, Sao Tome and Principe, and the Republic of Congo are at the bottom in the Doing Business 2010 report.
Doing Business 2010: Reforming through Difficult Times recorded 287 reforms between June 2008 and May 2009, up 20 percent from the previous year. Reformers around the world focused on making it easier to start and operate businesses, strengthening property rights, and improving commercial dispute resolution and bankruptcy procedures.
Rwanda is the star and the world’s top reformer of business regulation, making it easier to start businesses, register property, protect investors, trade across borders, and access credit. It marks the first time a Sub-Saharan African economy is the top reformer.
This year, there were four newcomers among the global top ten reformers: Liberia, the United Arab Emirates, Tajikistan and Moldova. Others, aside from Rwanda, are Egypt, Belarus, Macedonia, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Colombia.