#1 New Zealand

Procedures necessary to start a business - 1

Days required to start business – 1

Starting a business in New Zealand only requires applying online with the New Zealand Companies Office. It takes one day and costs just $127, after which a certificate of incorporation is issued via email within minutes. Further, there is no minimum paid-in capital needed for starting a company in New Zealand. Despite the ease of starting a business, 42.13% of New Zealanders work for a company with more than 250 employees — more than any nation other than the U.S. and UK. Still, New Zealand has maintained a high percentage of new companies created each year: 12.1% in 2007, 12.1% in 2008 and 10% in 2009.

New Zealand has a modern, prosperous and developed market economy with an estimated gross domestic product (GDP) at purchasing power parity (PPP) per capita of roughly US$28,250. The currency is the New Zealand dollar, informally known as the "Kiwi dollar"; it also circulates in the Cook Islands namely, Niue, Tokelau, and the Pitcairn Islands. New Zealand was ranked 5th in the 2011 Human Development Index, 4th in the The Heritage Foundation's 2012 Index of Economic Freedom, and 13th in INSEAD's 2012 Global Innovation Index.

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