Spain ranks 82nd globally for ease of starting a company

How easy is it to do business in Spain? That depends on what other countries you compare it to, and what stage of development the business is at.

According to the World Bank’s annual report Doing Business 2016, Spain ranks 33rd overall on a list of 189 economies in terms of how easy it is to do business – one position higher than last year.

But creating a company is still more difficult in Spain than in 81 other nations, while securing building permits is so complicated that it pushes the country down to 101st place in that category, near the bottom.

The 13th edition of the report shows that Singapore is the easiest place in the world in terms of regulations, procedures, times and costs of opening and running a business.

Spain ranks 33rd for its business-friendly environment, just above Japan and below Mauritius.

Securing building permits is so difficult that it pushes Spain down to 101st place, near the bottom

While the study takes into account dozens of factors, one of the most important issues under consideration is what steps are required to start a business in a given country. And this is where Spain gets a failing grade: entrepreneurs need an average 14 days, have to go through seven different procedures, and invest more in start-up costs than in many other countries.

Spain ranks even worse when it comes to getting construction permits, which require 13 different procedures and an average 205 days, compared with an average 152.1 days in OECD countries.

Getting hooked up to the electricity grid requires an average 107 days in Spain, compared with an OECD average of 77. And getting access to credit is harder now than it was a year ago, putting Spain in 59th place, seven spots lower than in the previous report.

But Spain’s business environment has greatly improved on some fronts, most notably in terms of how much easier it has become to file taxes and send electronic invoices. In fact, the World Bank mentions Spain as a role model in this area.

In terms of ease of paying taxes, Spain now ranks 60th, up from 79th last year.

Getting hooked up to electricity requires an average 107 days in Spain, compared with an OECD average of 77 

Spain has also improved its investor protection thanks to new corporate governance rules approved this year, and now sits in 29th spot in that category, up 15 positions from the 2015 report.

The World Bank study does not take into account factors such as macroeconomic stability, the state of the financial system, level of training and skills of the labor force, prevalence of bribery and corruption, and market size.

English version by Susana Urra.