Quantity and quality of economics are directly connected with business activity. Position of economics in the global economy depends on large number of factors and there is no one objective, indisputable list of them.
One of the most complex comparation of conditions for business activity is Doing Business ranking prepared by the World Bank. The first Doing Business report, published in 2003, covered 5 indicator sets and 133 economies. Last edition of the report ranked 183 economics, based on the knowledge of 9000 experts around the world and takes into account 10 groups of indicators.
The report is not providing full and complex information about the business environment in particular countries. Among the underlying indicators are: macroeconomic conditions, market size, workforce skills and security etc. Despite of clear drawback it contains key aspects of the regulatory and institutional environment that matter for firms.1 Directions contained in the report have contributed to changes of business regulation around the world - more than 1,750 improvements since 2004.2
20 economies, which provide the best opportunities for running business according to the ranking Doing Business 2012, have been shown below.
| Country | Rank in 2012 | Rank in 2011 | Number of reforms in 2010/11 |
| Singapore | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Hong Kong | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| New Zealand | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| United States | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Denmark | 5 | 5 | 1 |
| Norway | 6 | 7 | 0 |
| United Kingdom | 7 | 6 | 1 |
| South Korea | 8 | 15 | 3 |
| Iceland | 9 | 13 | 2 |
| Ireland | 10 | 8 | 0 |
| Finland | 11 | 14 | 1 |
| Saudi Arabia | 12 | 10 | 1 |
| Canada | 13 | 12 | 1 |
| Sweden | 14 | 9 | 0 |
| Australia | 15 | 11 | 1 |
| Georgia | 16 | 17 | 4 |
| Thailand | 17 | 16 | 1 |
| Malaysia | 18 | 23 | 3 |
| Germany | 19 | 19 | 0 |
| Japan | 20 | 20 | 0 |
Source: www.doingbusiness.org/rankings , 17.01.2012.
List of the largest economies in the world and their position in the Doing Business 2012 is presented below.
| Country | GDP Rank | Ease of doing business rank |
| United States | 1 | 4 |
| China | 2 | 91 |
| Japan | 3 | 20 |
| Germany | 4 | 19 |
| France | 5 | 29 |
| United Kingdom | 6 | 7 |
| Brazil | 7 | 126 |
| Italy | 8 | 87 |
| Canada | 9 | 13 |
| India | 10 | 132 |
| Russia | 11 | 120 |
| Spain | 12 | 44 |
| Australia | 13 | 15 |
| Mexico | 14 | 53 |
| South Korea | 15 | 8 |
| Netherlands | 16 | 31 |
| Turkey | 17 | 71 |
| Indonesia | 18 | 129 |
| Switzerland | 19 | 26 |
| Poland | 20 | 62 |
Here you can find:
- full report Doing Business 2012,
- Doing Business ranking in 2012,
- historical data.
Apart of Doing Business report there are several other publications about competitiveness of economies. Differences between them concern methodology, factors of competitiveness, amount of analyzed data etc. Among the most popular rankings are:
- Index of Economic Freedom published by the Wall Street Journal and Heritage Foundation,
- The Global Competitiveness Report published by the World Economic Forum.
References:
1. IMF, Doing Business 2012, page 5.
2. IMF, Doing Business 2012, preface.