Republic slips in ‘best countries to do business’ ranking

The Republic remains one of the best countries in the world in which to do business but has recorded a decline over the last year, according to the latest Forbes annual rankings.

The State is ranked in 11th place in the prestigious list which measures countries that are most hospitable to capital investment. This compares to eighth spot in last year’s rankings and fourth in 2016.

The Republic was ranked first in the world to do business in 2013 but its performance has declined in the years since.

Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, the UK is ranked the best country in the world in which to do business for the second year in a row, despite Brexit. It is the only market to feature among the top 30 countries on all 15 metrics used to rate nations and scores particularly highly for the strength of its workforce, innovation and lack of red tape.

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Sweden is ranked in second place with Hong Kong, Netherlands and New Zealand rounding out the top five countries.

The US fell five places this year to 17th, with the world’s biggest economy losing ground on personal, trade and monetary freedoms. Central African Republic is ranked in last spot overall, ahead of the Republic of Congo and Guinea-Bissau.

A breakdown of the rankings shows the Republic was in first place overall for personal freedoms, in fourth for tax burden, eighth for monetary freedom and 10th for lack of red tape. It came within the top 20 globally for property rights and corruption.

“The Irish economy continued to grow in 2017 and is forecast to do so through 2019, supported by a strong export sector, robust job growth, and low inflation, to the point that the Government must now address concerns about overheating and potential loss of competitiveness,” the report authors said.

"The greatest risks to the economy are the UK's scheduled departure from the European Union in March 2019, possible changes to international taxation policies that could affect Ireland's revenues, and global trade pressures," it added.

Forbes produces its annual Best Countries for Business report based on seven information sources measuring 15 metrics including innovation, taxes, property rights, technology and stock market performance in 161 nations.

The data is based on published reports from Freedom House, Heritage Foundation, Property Rights Alliance, United Nations, Transparency International, World Bank Group, Marsh & McLennan and World Economic Forum.