Ease of Doing Business in
| Region | Middle East & North Africa |
|---|---|
| Income category | Low income |
| Population | 16,906,283 |
| GNI per capita (US$) | 1,037 |
| City covered | Damascus |
Last year's scores are adjusted. They are based on 10 topics and reflect data corrections.
| Overall | 176 | 42.0 | 41.5 | 0.5 |
| Starting a Business | 143 | 80.1 | 81.0 | 0.9 |
| Dealing with Construction Permits | 186 | 0.0 | 0.0 | .. |
| Getting Electricity | 160 | 52.0 | 52.1 | 0.1 |
| Registering Property | 162 | 45.2 | 45.2 | .. |
| Getting Credit | 176 | 15.0 | 15.0 | .. |
| Protecting Minority Investors | 97 | 54.0 | 54.0 | .. |
| Paying Taxes | 91 | 74.0 | 74.0 | .. |
| Trading across Borders | 178 | 29.8 | 29.8 | .. |
| Enforcing Contracts | 160 | 42.6 | 42.6 | .. |
| Resolving Insolvency | 158 | 27.0 | 21.1 | 5.9 |
= Doing Business reform making it easier to do business.
= Change making it more difficult to do business.
The steps of launching a business are shown below. Included are: the number of procedures entrepreneurs can expect to go through to start up and formally operate an industrial or commercial business, as well as the time and cost to complete these procedures and the paid-in minimum capital requirement as a percentage of gross national income (GNI) per capita.
The total number of procedures required for married men to register a firm. A procedure is defined as any interaction of the company founders with external parties (for example, government agencies, lawyers, auditors or notaries).
The total number of days required for married men to register a firm. The measure captures the median duration that incorporation lawyers indicate is necessary to complete a procedure with minimum follow-up with government agencies and no extra payments.
Cost is recorded as a percentage of the economy’s income per capita. It includes all official fees and fees for legal or professional services if such services are required by law for married men.
The total number of procedures required for married women to register a firm. A procedure is defined as any interaction of the company founders with external parties (for example, government agencies, lawyers, auditors or notaries).
The total number of days required for married women to register a firm. The measure captures the median duration that incorporation lawyers indicate is necessary to complete a procedure with minimum follow-up with government agencies and no extra payments.
Cost is recorded as a percentage of the economy’s income per capita. It includes all official fees and fees for legal or professional services if such services are required by law for married women.
The amount that the entrepreneur needs to deposit in a bank or with a notary before registration and up to 3 months following incorporation and is recorded as a percentage of the economy’s income per capita.
The total number of procedures required to register a firm. A procedure is defined as any interaction of the company founders with external parties (for example, government agencies, lawyers, auditors or notaries).
The total number of days required to register a firm. The measure captures the median duration that incorporation lawyers indicate is necessary to complete a procedure with minimum follow-up with government agencies and no extra payments.
Cost is recorded as a percentage of the economy’s income per capita. It includes all official fees and fees for legal or professional services if such services are required by law.
Applies to women only.
Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.
* This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure.
Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website (http://www.doingbusiness.org/en/methodology). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below.
Shown below are the procedures, time, and costs to build a warehouse, including obtaining necessary licenses and permits, completing required notifications and inspections, and obtaining utility connections.
The total number of procedures required to build a warehouse. A procedure is any interaction of the company’s employees or managers with external parties.
The total number of days required to build a warehouse. The measure captures the median duration that local experts indicate is necessary to complete a procedure in practice.
Cost is recorded as a percentage of the warehouse value.
The building quality control index is based on six other indices—the quality of building regulations, quality control before construction, quality control during construction, quality control after construction, liability and insurance regimes, and professional certifications indices.
Applies to women only.
Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.
* This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure.
Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website (http://www.doingbusiness.org/en/methodology). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below.
The challenges required for a business to obtain a permanent electricity connection for a newly constructed warehouse are shown below. Included are the number of steps, time, and cost.
The number of procedures to obtain a permanent electricity connection. A procedure is defined as any interaction of the company employees or the company’s main electrician with external parties.
The number of days to obtain a permanent electricity connection. The measure captures the median duration that the electricity utility and experts indicate is necessary in practice, rather than required by law, to complete a procedure.
The cost is recorded as a percentage of the economy’s income per capita. Costs are recorded exclusive of value added tax.
The reliability of supply and transparency of tariffs index is calculated on the basis of the following six components: duration and frequency of power outages, tools to monitor power outages, tools to restore power supply, regulatory monitoring of utilities’ performance, financial deterrents aimed at limiting outages, and transparency and accessibility of tariffs.
Applies to women only.
Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.
Note: If new commercial connections to the electricity grid were not issued in a given year, or if electricity is not provided during that period, the economy receives a “no practice” mark on the procedures, time and cost indicators. A “no practice” economy receives a score of 0 on the reliability of supply and transparency of tariff index regardless of the regulatory practices that are applicable to the reliability of supply and transparency of tariffs.
* This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure.
Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website (http://www.doingbusiness.org/en/methodology). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below.
The ease with which businesses can secure rights to property is shown below. Included are the number of steps, time, and cost involved in registering property.
The total number of procedures legally required to register property. A procedure is defined as any interaction of the buyer or the seller, their agents (if an agent is legally or in practice required) with external parties.
The total number of days required to register property. The measure captures the median duration that property lawyers, notaries or registry officials indicate is necessary to complete a procedure.
Cost is recorded as a percentage of the property value, assumed to be equivalent to 50 times income per capita. Only official costs required by law are recorded.
The quality of land administration index has five dimensions: reliability of infrastructure, transparency of information, geographic coverage, land dispute resolution, and equal access to property rights.
Applies to women only.
Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.
* This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure.
Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website (http://www.doingbusiness.org/en/methodology). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below.
Measures on credit information sharing and the legal rights of borrowers and lenders are shown below. The Legal Rights Index ranges from 0-12, with higher scores indicating that those laws are better designed to expand access to credit. The Credit Information Index measures the scope, access and quality of credit information available through public registries or private bureaus. It ranges from 0-8, with higher values indicating that more credit information is available from a public registry or private bureau.
This index measures the degree to which collateral and bankruptcy laws protect the rights of borrowers and lenders and thus facilitate lending.
This index measures rules and practices affecting the coverage, scope and accessibility of credit information available through either a credit registry or a credit bureau.
This indicator reports the number of individuals and firms listed in a credit registry with information on their borrowing history from the past 5 years.
This indicator reports the number of individuals and firms listed by a credit bureau with information on their borrowing history from the past 5 years.
The indicators below describe dimensions of minority investors' protections. Three dimensions concern regulation that addresses conflicts of interest (extent of conflict of regulation index) and measure: (i) transparency of related-party transactions (extent of disclosure index), (ii) shareholders’ ability to sue and hold directors liable for corporate self-dealing (extent of director liability index), and (iii) access to evidence and allocation of legal expenses in shareholder litigation (ease of shareholder suits index). Other three dimensions concern shareholders’ rights in corporate governance (extent of shareholder governance index) and measure: (i) shareholders’ rights and role in major corporate decisions (extent of shareholder rights index), (ii) governance safeguards protecting shareholders from undue board control and entrenchment (extent of ownership and control index), and (iii) transparency on beneficial ownership stakes, compensation, annual meetings, and audits (extent of corporate transparency index).
The extent of disclosure index measures the approval and disclosure requirements of related-party transactions. This index ranges from 0 to 10 and has five components.
The extent of director liability index measures when can board members be held liable for harm caused by related-party transactions and what sanctions are available. This index ranges from 0 to 10 and has seven components.
The ease of shareholder suits index measures how likely are plaintiffs to access internal corporate evidence and recover legal expenses. This index ranges from 0 to 10 and has six components.
The extent of shareholder rights index measures the role of shareholders in key corporate decisions. This index ranges from 0 to 6 and has 6 components.
The extent of ownership and control index measures the rules governing the structure and change in control of companies. This index ranges from 0 to 7 and has 7 components.
The extent of corporate transparency index measures the level of information that companies must share regarding their board members, senior executives, annual meetings and audits. This index ranges from 0 to 7 and has 7 components.
Note: To score on the extent of shareholder rights, extent of ownership and control, and extent of corporate transparency indexes, economies must have or be part of an active stock exchange with at least 10 equity issuers offering their shares to the public. For economies that are part of a regional stock exchange, the protecting minority investors indicator set counts the total number of equity issuers listed on the regional stock exchange. State-owned enterprises and companies that issue only nonequity securities (for example, bonds) or shares without voting rights (for example, preferred shares without voting rights) are not counted.
This topic records the taxes and mandatory contributions that a medium-size company must pay or withhold in a given year, as well as measures the administrative burden of paying taxes and contributions and complying with postfiling procedures.
The total number of taxes and contributions paid, the method of payment, the frequency of payment, the frequency of filing and the number of agencies involved for the standardized case study company during the second year of operation. It includes taxes withheld by the company, such as sales tax, VAT and employee-borne labor taxes.
The time it takes to prepare, file and pay (or withhold) the corporate income tax, value added or sales tax, and labor taxes, including payroll taxes and social contributions (in hours per year).
The total tax rate measures the amount of taxes and mandatory contributions payable by the business in the second year of operation, expressed as a share of commercial profits.
The postfiling index is based on four components—time to comply with VAT refund, time to obtain VAT refund, time to comply with a corporate income tax correction and time to complete a corporate income tax correction. If both VAT and corporate income tax apply, the postfiling index is the simple average of the scores for each of the four components. If only VAT or corporate income tax applies, the postfiling index is the simple average of the scores for only the two components pertaining to the applicable tax. If neither VAT nor corporate income tax applies, the postfiling index is not included in the ranking of the ease of paying taxes.
Note: If an economy does not levy any taxes, the set of indicators in Paying Taxes are recorded as “no practice’.
This topic measures the time and cost (excluding tariffs) associated with three sets of procedures—documentary compliance, border compliance and domestic transport—within the overall process of exporting or importing a shipment of goods.
The time and cost for border compliance include time and cost for obtaining, preparing and submitting documents during port or border handling, customs clearance and inspection procedures.
The time and cost for border compliance include time and cost for obtaining, preparing and submitting documents during port or border handling, customs clearance and inspection procedures.
The time and cost for documentary compliance include the time and cost for obtaining documents, preparing documents, processing documents, presenting documents, and submitting documents.
The time and cost for documentary compliance include the time and cost for obtaining documents, preparing documents, processing documents, presenting documents, and submitting documents.
The time and cost for border compliance include time and cost for obtaining, preparing and submitting documents during port or border handling, customs clearance and inspection procedures.
The time and cost for border compliance include time and cost for obtaining, preparing and submitting documents during port or border handling, customs clearance and inspection procedures.
The time and cost for documentary compliance include the time and cost for obtaining documents, preparing documents, processing documents, presenting documents, and submitting documents.
The time and cost for documentary compliance include the time and cost for obtaining documents, preparing documents, processing documents, presenting documents, and submitting documents.
Enforcing Contracts measures the time and cost for resolving a commercial dispute through a local first-instance court and the quality of judicial processes index, evaluating whether each economy has adopted a series of good practices that promote quality and efficiency in the court system.
The time to resolve a dispute, counted from the moment the plaintiff decides to file the lawsuit in court until payment. This includes both the days when actions take place and the waiting periods in between.
The cost in court fees, attorney fees (where the use of attorneys is mandatory or common) and enforcement fees expressed as a percentage of the claim value.
The quality of judicial processes index measures whether each economy has adopted a series of good practices in its court system in four areas: court structure and proceedings, case management, court automation and alternative dispute resolution.
The time and cost required to resolve bankruptcies is shown below. The data identifies weaknesses in existing bankruptcy law and the main procedural and administrative bottlenecks in the bankruptcy process. The recovery rate, expressed in terms of how many cents on the dollar claimants recover from the insolvent firm, is also shown.
The recovery rate calculates how many cents on the dollar secured creditors recover from an insolvent firm at the end of insolvency proceedings.
Disclaimer: If an economy had zero insolvency cases a year over the past five years involving a judicial reorganization, judicial liquidation or debt enforcement procedure (foreclosure or receivership), the economy receives a “no practice” mark on the time, cost and outcome indicators. This means that creditors are unlikely to recover their money through a formal legal process. The recovery rate for “no practice” economies is zero.
Recovery by creditors depends on whether the hotel business emerges from the proceedings as a going concern or the company’s assets are sold piecemeal.
Disclaimer: If an economy had zero insolvency cases a year over the past five years involving a judicial reorganization, judicial liquidation or debt enforcement procedure (foreclosure or receivership), the economy receives a “no practice” mark on the time, cost and outcome indicators.
The index is the sum of four component indices: commencement of proceedings index, management of debtor’s assets index, reorganization proceedings index and creditor participation index.
Disclaimer: Even if the economy’s legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization), the economy receives 0 points for the strength of insolvency framework index, if time, cost and outcome indicators are recorded as “no practice.”
Note: Even if the economy’s legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization), the economy receives 0 points for the strength of insolvency framework index, if time, cost and outcome indicators are recorded as “no practice.”
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