MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

South America does not help self-employed individuals thrive, study shows

Topping the list where starting a business is most favoured was Hong Kong.

Uruguay and Argentina finished last and next respectively in a study carried out by international consultants Expert Market on the difficulties faced by self-employed individuals in 57 countries, it was reported Saturday.

The researchers, who specialize in comparing products and services worldwide, have concluded that South America is a difficult continent for the self-employed, and countries such as Peru and Ecuador are also near the bottom of the list.

Expert Market highlighted that these four countries have a poor transport infrastructure and low internet speed. Also, the World Bank has given them a poor score in terms of the conditions to start a business, which means that novice entrepreneurs will find more obstacles than in other parts of the world at the early stages of its operation, a period which is crucial for future development.

On the other hand, topping the list where starting a business is most favoured were Hong Kong, the United States, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates.

The former British domain in China was ranked first thanks to its transport network, and was placed second when it came down to access to credit, in addition to one of the three lowest tax rates.

Expert Market draws up its list comparing countries based on eight items: cost of living, income tax, access to credit, average Internet speed, transport networks, free WiFi availability, cost of a cup of coffee and favourabilitt of the conditions to start a business. Once the data about these items has been collected, a general score is calculated.

Best 10 countries for self-employed individuals: 1. Hong Kong, 2. USA, 3. South Korea, 4. United Arab Emirates, 5. UK, 6. Spain, 7. New Zealand, 8. Estonia, 9. Bulgaria, 10. Czech Republic.

Worst 10 countries for self-employed individuals: 57. Uruguay, 56. Argentina, 55. Israel, 54. Philippines, 53. Ecuador, 52. Slovenia, 51. Costa Rica, 50. Ireland, 49. Belgium, 48. Peru.