Croatia ranked 80th among 183 global economies in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2012 report released on Thursday (October 20). Croatia is down one notch from last year’s revised results.

Doing Business 2012 is the ninth in a series of annual reports investigating the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it. Doing Business presents quantitative indicators on business regulation and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 183 economies – from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe – and over time.

Regulations affecting 11 areas of the life of a business are covered: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency (formerly closing a business) and employing workers. The employing workers data are not included in this year’s ranking on the ease of doing business.

Croatia moved up on two of the indicators: getting credit (moving up from 64th place to 48th place) and registering property (from 104th to 102th), while the nation’s ranking fell in six categories: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, investors protection, payment of taxes, cross border trade and resolution of insolvency. The most significant drop is from 57th to 67th place in starting a business area. 

Countries from the region ranked as following: Macedonia 22th, Slovenia 37th, Montenegro 56th, Serbia 92nd, Kosovo 117th and Bosnia and Herzegovina 125th. The world’s top five countries for doing business remained unchanged from last year – Singapore, Hong Kong, New Zealand, the US and Denmark, the report said. The Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic and Chad finished at the bottom of the global economies ranking.