Romania outranked by Botswana in Forbes' Best Countries for Business

Romania came 60 out of 141 in the most recent raking of best countries for doing business, published by Forbes. Romania came just under Botswana, which managed to score better overall, with an economic increase of 4.6 percent and a population of 2.1 million. Romania's 2.5 percent GDP growth and 21.8 million population (as recorded by Forbes, according to the latest official census; data from the 2011 census was not yet made official) managed to outrank Jordan, Kuwait, Thailand, Greece, Kazakhstan, Brazil and Albania, among others. Romania's GDP per capita was calculated at USD 8,405, while Botswana's was USD 8,680. The different was also made on trade balance as percentage of GDP, which was minus 4.5 percent for Romania, and minus 2.7 percent for Botswana. Guinea was the worst country to do business in, while New Zealand, the smallest country in the top 10, ranked as the best. Denmark, Hong Kong, Singapore and Canada came next in the ranking. The US continued to decline, after being placed second last year, now it is only 12th. Check the full ranking here. Forbes determined the Best Countries for Business by grading 141 nations on 11 different factors: property rights, innovation, taxes, technology, corruption, freedom (personal, trade and monetary), red tape, investor protection and stock market performance. editor@romania-insider.com