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Country Snapshot - Brazil  

HighlightsRankingsQuantitative DataLegislationAnalytical WorkProject Portfolio
  • Latin America & Caribbean
  • Upper middle income
  • 194,946,470 (2011)
  • 9,390
Brazil Flag
Below are select highlights for the data included in the profile.

  1. Brazil’s overall Doing Business ranking has declined by 3 points this year, reflecting lower improvements for six indicators. The most drastic decrease occurred in the Trading Across Borders Indicator, where the country dropped 16 spots. However, an improvement was recorded in the Starting a Business Indicator.
  2. According to Enterprise surveys (2009), the top barriers to investment include Tax Rates, Tax Administration, Access to Finance, and Inadequately Educated Workforce. Among the firms surveyed, 75% of them perceive tax admistration as a major constraint to investment.
  3. According to the Investing Across Borders Indicators, Brazil’s restrictions on foreign equity ownership are above average among the countries in the Latin America and the Caribbean. Compared with other BRIC (Brazil, Russian Federation, India, and China) countries only Russia has fewer restrictions on foreign equity ownership than Brazil.
  4. In the World Bank Governance Indicators Report, it is worth noting that Brazil has improved notably in the Aggregate Indicator.
  5. The Index of Economic Freedom gave Brazil an economic freedom score of 56.3, making its economy the 113th freest in the 2011 Index. Its score is 0.7 point better than last year as a result of improvements in investment freedom and trade freedom. Brazil is ranked 21st out of 29 countries in the South and Central America/Caribbean region, and its overall score is below the regional and world averages. The Brazilian economy has been expanding with the help of booming commodity exports. However, the efficiency and overall quality of government services remain poor despite high government spending as a percentage of GDP. Barriers to entrepreneurial activity include burdensome taxes, inefficient regulation, poor access to long-term financing, and a rigid labor market. The judicial system remains vulnerable to political influence and corruption.

Subnational Doing Business Report

Doing Business in Brazil 2006 covers 13 Brazilian cities in 5 areas of regulation: starting a business, registering property, obtaining credit, paying taxes, and enforcing a contract. The subnational report highlights the increasing importance of state and city level reforms in a globalized world as cities, as much as countries, are competing for investments.

Main Findings:

  • It was easiest to do business in Brasilia and most difficult in Fortaleza.
  • There was a wide variation in the time it took to transfer property in Brazil -- from less than a month in São Luís to almost 3 months in Campo Grande.
  • Complying with business regulations was easiest in Brasilia, but in Belo Horizonte it took only 2 days to create and register collateral, compared to 45 days in Brasilia.
  • Businesses in Rio de Janeiro are burdened with one of the highest tax rates in the world.

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