Macedonia

1. FYR Macedonia is ranked 23rd out of 185 economies in the Doing Business 2013 report, recording a decrease of 1 point compared to last year.
2. According to the latest Enterprise Surveys (2009), the top 3 obstacles to running a business in FYR Macedonia include Practices of the Informal Sector, Access to Finance, and Political Instability. 73.9% of firms report competing against unregistered or informal firms, compared to the regional average of 44.7%. Even though 61.1% of firms report having a line of credit or loans from financial institutions, the value of collateral needed for a loan is 175.9%, higher than the regional average of 134.0%.
3. According to the Investing Across Borders Indicators, the FYR Macedonia has opened up the majority of the sectors of its economy to foreign investors. As a notable exception, legal ownership restrictions still exist in the domestic and international air transportation industries. As in most other countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, legislation in FYR Macedonia limits foreign ownership in these sectors to a maximum of 49%. A number of business sectors, such as electricity transmission, railway freight transportation, airport operation, and waste management, are still dominated by publicly owned enterprises. Those monopolies, together with a high perceived difficulty of obtaining required operating licenses, make it difficult for foreign companies to engage in these sectors.
4. FYR Macedonia’s economic freedom score is 68.5, making its economy the 43rd freest in the 2012 Index. Its overall score has increased 2.5 points from last year, reflecting improvements in six of the 10 economic freedoms and an especially large gain in business freedom. FYR Macedonia is ranked 21st out of 43 countries in the Europe region, and its overall score is above the world and regional averages.

Source: World Bank