By John Lee.
Iran has been ranked 124th out of 190 countries in the World Bank‘s recent Doing Business 2018 report, down from 120th place the previous year.
Despite the fall in the rankings, the report notes that over the previous year Iran improved access to credit information by reporting data on credit payments from an automobile retailer.
Top of the list were New Zealand, Singapore and Denmark, with last place going to Somalia, just behind Eritrea and Venezuela. Iraq ranked 168th, with Libya 185th.
Doing Business measures regulations affecting 11 areas of the life of a business. Ten of these areas are included in this year’s ranking on the ease of doing business: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. Doing Business also measures labor market regulation, which is not included in this year’s ranking.
(Source: World Bank)