Nigeria improves in World Bank’s ease of doing business ranking
The World Bank has came out with its Ease of Doing Business index for 2017 which shows that Nigeria moved up by one point from 170th position in 2016 to 169th in 2017, out of 190 countries.
The facts are contained in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business report titled, “Doing Business 2017: Equal Opportunity for All”, the institution made public on Tuesday.
The report indicated that Nigeria moved up by one point from 170th position on the 2016 ranking to 169th position for the 2017 ranking.
The World Bank’s Doing Business ranking for 2017 covers 11 indicator sets and provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 190 economies and selected cities at the sub-national and regional level.
The report also shows that most improvement for Nigeria is in area of access to credit where the country moved up by 16th position.
Details of the ranking shows that Nigeria recorded the greatest improvement in getting credit as the nation improves by 16 points from 60 position in 2016 to 44 position in 2017, it also moved up by two points on getting electricity from 182 position to 180 position.
On the other hand, the country was marked down by one point from 137 in 2016 to 138 in 2017 on Starting Business; Dealing with Construction Permits Nigeria came down by one point from 173 in 2016 to 174 in 2017; Registering Property, there is no change; it was 182 in 2016, the same thing with 2017. In the issue of Protecting Minority Investors, the nation came down by two points from 30 in 2016 to 32 in 2017 and Resolving Insolvency which was 139 in 2016 came down to 140 in 2017.
The ranking was the same as it was in 2016 for2017 in the area of Paying Taxes it was 182 in 2016 and remained the same in 2017, same with Trading across Border which was 181 in 2016 and 2017. Enforcing Contract was 139 both years.
“The new report finds that developing countries carried out more than 75 per cent of the 283 reforms in the past year, with Sub-Saharan Africa accounting for over one-quarter of all reforms.
In its global country rankings of business efficiency, Doing Business 2017 awarded its top spot to New Zealand, Singapore ranks second, followed by Denmark; Hong Kong SAR, China; Republic of Korea; Norway; United Kingdom; United States; Sweden; and Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
“The world’s top 10 improvers, based on reforms undertaken, are Brunei Darussalam; Kazakhstan; Kenya; Belarus; Indonesia; Serbia; Georgia; Pakistan; United Arab Emirates (UAE); and Bahrain.
“The report cites research that demonstrates that better performance in Doing Business is, on average, associated with lower levels of income inequality, thereby reducing poverty and boosting shared prosperity.
“Simple rules that are easy to follow are a sign that a government treats its citizens with respect. They yield direct economic benefits – more entrepreneurship; more market opportunities for women; more adherence to the rule of law,” said Paul Romer, World Bank Chief Economist and Senior Vice President.
“But we should also remember that being treated with respect is something that people value for its own sake and that a government that fails to treat its citizens this way will lose its ability to lead.”
Doing Business data points to continued successes in the ease of doing business worldwide, as governments increasingly take up key business reforms. Starting a new business now takes an average of 21 days worldwide, compared with 46 days 10 years ago. The report explained.
