Nigeria rating improves on World Bank Doing Business Index
World Bank’s 2020 Doing Business Index (DBI) has ranked Nigeria 131 out of ranking that objectively assesses prevailing business climate conditions across 190 countries based on 10 ease of doing business indicators.
190 countries, up 15 places from 146th position in 2018.
The DBI is an annualThe report, which was released Thursday, also named Nigeria one of the top 10 most improved economies in the world for the second time in three years. Nigeria is one of only two African countries to make this highly prestigious list.
According to the World Bank Group’s Doing Business 2020 study, governments of 115 economies around the world launched 294 reforms over the past year.
The report explained that this made doing business easier for the domestic private sector in the countries, paving the way for more jobs, expanded commercial activity, and higher incomes for many.
With this rating, Nigeria has improved an aggregate of 39 places in the World Bank DBI since 2016.
The index captures ease of doing business reforms that have been validated by the private sector, and offers comparative insights based on private sector validation in the two largest commercial cities, Lagos and Kano, in countries with a population higher than 100 million.
World Bank President, David Malpass, said governments can foster market-oriented development and broad-based growth by creating rules that help businesses launch, hire, and expand.
He added that removing barriers facing entrepreneurs generates better jobs, more tax revenues, and higher incomes, all of which were necessary to reduce poverty and raise living standards.
Meanwhile, China and India made the top 10 list of governments that have done the most in the past year to improve the ease of doing business in their countries.
China made the top 10 list for the second year in a row, despite a bitter trade war in which the United States has demanded reforms from Beijing to protect intellectual property and open its economy further to American businesses.
The Asian country leapfrogged France to take the 31st spot in the ranking, also moving up 15 places just as Nigeria.
India, on the other hand, landed on the most-improved list for the third year in a row, moving up by 14 places to number 63 in the global rankings.
The report noted that the country made it easier to start a business by abolishing filing fees, lowering the time and cost of seeking construction permits and making trade easier with port improvements and an improved electronic platform for submitting documents.
The other seven economies where business climates improved the most were Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Togo, Bahrain, Tajikistan, Pakistan, and Kuwait.
New Zealand continues to top the global rankings, while Singapore, Hong Kong, Denmark, and Korea are right behind with the United States, Georgia, the United Kingdom, Norway and Sweden completing the top 10 list.
