São Tomé and Principe
2009 rank: #176
2008 rank: #177
2008 rank: #177
It takes at least 144 days to register a new business in this island nation, and strict employment laws make hiring and firing pricey: Notice, severance payments and penalties can add up to almost two years of salary for a terminated worker. But importers and exporters are in luck: The cost of shipping goods in and out of the country is among the lowest in the world.
NEXT: Chad
Source: All data comes from "Doing Business 2009," a publication of the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation. Detailed methodological information is available at www.doingbusiness.org.
LAST UPDATE: Sep 11 2008 | 1:19 PM ET
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