Best Countries to Start a Business 2024

If you are considering starting a business, you need to be familiar with the country’s laws surrounding business ventures. Some countries are much more friendly to opening businesses, while others have much more restrictive policies that, in some cases, can be prohibitive. That said, generally, the best country to start a business is your own. However, if you are looking to start a business elsewhere, you do have options.

India is the fifth-easiest country in the world to start a business, thanks to a business-friendly environment that has made the legal process of starting a business much more streamlined and faster. The process only takes about 18 days.

However, starting a business in Singapore is easier, ranking number four out of the world, and the process only takes a day and a half. Singapore has long been known for a very business-friendly environment whose regulations favor those in the private sector.

Despite being a communist country, meaning that the state owns the means of production, China ranks high for ease of starting a business, ranking in at number three. Beijing is one of just two cities in the entire world in which someone can start a business with absolutely no fees. To make the process easier, China has taken steps to simplify the process of starting a business, including moving business registration online.

Malaysia, in Southeast Asia, is the second-best country in the world for starting a business. The process takes 17 days, but what makes the country so attractive for companies is that its registration system for business taxes is entirely online.

The best country in the world to start a business is a neighbor to Malaysia, the island country of Thailand. In Thailand, starting a business takes less than a week, and the process has become cheaper in recent years due to fixed registration fees.

Despite business-friendly environments in other countries, there are many legal hoops you would have to jump through to open a business overseas. Furthermore, consider that if you have citizenship in a country different from the one in which your business is located, you may have to pay taxes to both countries. Before opening a business in another country, make sure that you are entirely aware of everything involved, including laws from your home country and your business country.