Business climate in United Kingdom

United Kingdom ranks #9 of 54 on the overall business climate (score 67). Its strongest suit is red tape, followed by rule of law; the weakest is momentum.

Red tape88 / 100Rule of law72 / 100Business taxes56 / 100Momentum47 / 100
DriverScoreRankMeasures
Red tape and ease of doing business88 #5 of 54Regulatory framework (World Bank B-READY 2025): 78 (2025); Business entry (B-READY): 91 (2025); Public services for business (B-READY): 74 (2025); Days to start a business (Doing Business): 4.50 (2017); Procedures to start a business (Doing Business): 4.00 (2017); Ease of doing business rank (Doing Business, 1 = easiest of 190): 7.00 (2017)
Rule of law and legal certainty72 #17 of 54Liberal democracy (V-Dem): 0.69 (2025); Corruption perceptions score (higher = cleaner): 70 (2025); Strength of legal rights for borrowers and lenders: 7.00 (2017); Dispute resolution (B-READY): 66 (2025)
Taxes on business56 #27 of 53Corporate income tax rate (headline): 25 (2026); Total tax and contribution rate on commercial profits: 31 (2017); Taxation administration (B-READY): 61 (2025)
Cost of capital––Access to finance (B-READY): 85 (2025)
Energy prices for business––no comparable figure yet
Growth momentum and investment trend47 #28 of 53Real GDP growth, average of the last five years: 3.29 (2025); Growth trend: last three years against 2015-2019: -1.12 (2025); Foreign direct investment, net inflows: 0.40 (2023)
2010: 2.3%102011: 0.9%112012: 1.5%122013: 1.7%132014: 3.2%142015: 2.1%152016: 2.2%162017: 3.0%172018: 1.6%182019: 1.3%192020: -10.1%202021: 8.5%212022: 5.2%222023: 0.3%232024: 1.1%242025: 1.4%25
Real GDP growth by year (World Bank). Green bars: growth; red: contraction.

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Sources as on the business-climate table. Nestlyzer scores each measure 0–100 between the 5th and 95th percentile of the countries it covers. How the method works.