Business freedom - Country rankings
* indicates monthly or quarterly data series
Business freedom index (0-100), 2026:
The average for 2026 based on 45 countries was 61 points. The highest value was in Singapore: 91 points and the lowest value was in North Korea: 5 points. The indicator is available from 1995 to 2026. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.Measure: points; Source: The Heritage Foundation
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* indicates monthly or quarterly data series
| Countries | Business freedom, 2026 | Global rank | Available data |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singapore | 91 | 1 | 1995 - 2026 |
| UA Emirates | 85 | 2 | 1996 - 2026 |
| South Korea | 82 | 3 | 1995 - 2026 |
| Malaysia | 80 | 4 | 1995 - 2026 |
| Taiwan | 79 | 5 | 1995 - 2026 |
| Japan | 78 | 6 | 1995 - 2026 |
| Georgia | 77 | 7 | 1996 - 2026 |
| Bahrain | 76 | 8 | 1995 - 2026 |
| Brunei | 75 | 9 | 2014 - 2026 |
| Armenia | 73 | 10 | 1996 - 2026 |
| Israel | 72 | 11 | 1995 - 2026 |
| Azerbaijan | 71 | 12 | 1996 - 2026 |
| Saudi Arabia | 71 | 13 | 1996 - 2026 |
| Thailand | 70 | 14 | 1995 - 2026 |
| Vietnam | 70 | 15 | 1995 - 2026 |
| China | 69 | 16 | 1995 - 2026 |
| Indonesia | 69 | 17 | 1995 - 2026 |
| Philippines | 69 | 18 | 1995 - 2026 |
| Bhutan | 68 | 19 | 2009 - 2026 |
| Mongolia | 68 | 20 | 1995 - 2026 |
| Oman | 68 | 21 | 1995 - 2026 |
| Qatar | 68 | 22 | 1999 - 2026 |
| India | 67 | 23 | 1995 - 2026 |
| Kazakhstan | 65 | 24 | 1998 - 2026 |
| Jordan | 63 | 25 | 1995 - 2026 |
| Uzbekistan | 63 | 26 | 1998 - 2026 |
| Cambodia | 61 | 27 | 1997 - 2026 |
| Nepal | 61 | 28 | 1996 - 2026 |
| Tajikistan | 61 | 29 | 1998 - 2026 |
| Sri Lanka | 60 | 30 | 1995 - 2026 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 58 | 31 | 1998 - 2026 |
| Kuwait | 57 | 32 | 1996 - 2026 |
| Laos | 54 | 33 | 1996 - 2026 |
| Pakistan | 54 | 34 | 1995 - 2026 |
| Bangladesh | 53 | 35 | 1995 - 2026 |
| Maldives | 50 | 36 | 2009 - 2026 |
| Lebanon | 48 | 37 | 1996 - 2026 |
| Iraq | 43 | 38 | 1996 - 2026 |
| Burma | 38 | 39 | 1996 - 2026 |
| Turkmenistan | 38 | 40 | 1998 - 2026 |
| Iran | 37 | 41 | 1996 - 2026 |
| Afghanistan | 34 | 42 | 2013 - 2026 |
| Syria | 34 | 43 | 1996 - 2026 |
| Yemen | 31 | 44 | 1995 - 2026 |
| North Korea | 5 | 45 | 1995 - 2026 |
Definition: The Business freedom index is based on 10 indicators, using data from the World Bank’s Doing Business study: Starting a business-procedures (number), time (days), cost (% of income per capita), and minimum capital (% of income per capita); Obtaining a license—procedures (number), time (days), and cost (% of income per capita); Closing a business—time (years), cost (% of estate), and recovery rate (cents on the dollar).
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91
85
82
80
79
78
77
76
75
73
72
71
71
70
70
69
69
69
68
68
68
68
67
65
63
63
61
61
61
60
58
57
54
54
53
50
48
43
38
38
37
34
34
31
5
0
22.8
45.5
68.3
91
Business freedom around the world Business freedom in Europe Business freedom in Africa Business freedom in North America Business freedom in South America Business freedom in Australia/Oceania Business freedom in the European union Business freedom in Sub Sahara Africa Business freedom in MENA Business freedom in South East Asia Business freedom in Latin America