Doing Business 2016: St. Lucia Summary
Core Content
The Doing Business 2016 report provides an assessment of regulatory quality and efficiency for small to medium-sized businesses in 189 economies, including St. Lucia. It evaluates 11 key areas in the business life cycle, such as starting a business, getting electricity, and resolving insolvency, using both rankings and distance to frontier (DTF) scores. The report also outlines methodological updates and highlights how these indicators can inform policy reforms and improve the business environment.
Main Topics and Indicators
The following are the main topics and their associated indicators for St. Lucia in the Doing Business 2016 report:
| Topic |
St. Lucia DB2016 |
St. Lucia DB2015 |
Comparator Economies |
Best Performer |
| Starting a Business |
Rank: 67 |
Rank: 65 |
Antigua and Barbuda: 107, Dominica: 63, Grenada: 76, Jamaica: 9, St. Kitts and Nevis: 90, St. Vincent and the Grenadines: 77 |
New Zealand (1) |
| Starting a Business (DTF Score) |
88.68 |
88.62 |
Antigua and Barbuda: 83.37, Dominica: 89.35, Grenada: 86.84, Jamaica: 97.28, St. Kitts and Nevis: 85.66, St. Vincent and the Grenadines: 86.72 |
New Zealand (99.96) |
| Procedures (number) |
5.0 |
5.0 |
Antigua and Barbuda: 8.0, Dominica: 5.0, Grenada: 6.0, Jamaica: 2.0, St. Kitts and Nevis: 7.0, St. Vincent and the Grenadines: 7.0 |
5 Economies (7.00) |
| Time (days) |
11.0 |
11.0 |
Antigua and Barbuda: 110.0, Dominica: 175.0, Grenada: 128.0, Jamaica: 129.5, St. Kitts and Nevis: 104.0, St. Vincent and the Grenadines: 92.0 |
Singapore (26.00) |
| Cost (% of income per capita) |
22.4 |
22.9 |
Antigua and Barbuda: 9.5, Dominica: 15.0, Grenada: 17.3, Jamaica: 5.0, St. Kitts and Nevis: 7.9, St. Vincent and the Grenadines: 16.5 |
Slovenia (0.00) |
| Paid-in min. capital (% of income per capita) |
0.0 |
0.0 |
All comparator economies: 0.0 |
105 Economies (0.00) |
| Topic |
St. Lucia DB2016 |
St. Lucia DB2015 |
Comparator Economies |
Best Performer |
| Dealing with Construction Permits |
Rank: 50 |
Rank: 48 |
Antigua and Barbuda: 95, Dominica: 115, Grenada: 100, Jamaica: 72, St. Kitts and Nevis: 32, St. Vincent and the Grenadines: 59 |
Singapore (1) |
| Dealing with Construction Permits (DTF Score) |
74.51 |
74.49 |
Antigua and Barbuda: 68.24, Dominica: 65.76, Grenada: 67.61, Jamaica: 71.1, St. Kitts and Nevis: 77.31, St. Vincent and the Grenadines: 72.74 |
Singapore (92.97) |
| Procedures (number) |
14.0 |
14.0 |
Antigua and Barbuda: 16.0, Dominica: 10.0, Grenada: 13.0, Jamaica: 17.0, St. Kitts and Nevis: 10.0, St. Vincent and the Grenadines: 14.0 |
4 Economies (7.00) |
| Time (days) |
116.0 |
116.0 |
Antigua and Barbuda: 110.0, Dominica: 175.0, Grenada: 128.0, Jamaica: 129.5, St. Kitts and Nevis: 104.0, St. Vincent and the Grenadines: 92.0 |
Singapore (26.00) |
| Cost (% of warehouse value) |
0.7 |
0.7 |
Antigua and Barbuda: 0.4, Dominica: 0.1, Grenada: 0.3, Jamaica: 0.9, St. Kitts and Nevis: 0.3, St. Vincent and the Grenadines: 0.1 |
Qatar (0.00) |
| Building quality control index (0-15) |
9.5 |
9.5 |
Antigua and Barbuda: 6.5, Dominica: 4.0, Grenada: 5.0, Jamaica: 10.0, St. Kitts and Nevis: 8.0, St. Vincent and the Grenadines: 7.0 |
New Zealand (15.00) |
| Topic |
St. Lucia DB2016 |
St. Lucia DB2015 |
Comparator Economies |
Best Performer |
| Getting Electricity |
Rank: 26 |
Rank: 26 |
Antigua and Barbuda: 33, Dominica: 37, Grenada: 58, Jamaica: 80, St. Kitts and Nevis: 84, St. Vincent and the Grenadines: 79 |
Korea, Rep. (1) |
| Getting Electricity (DTF Score) |
84.7 |
84.72 |
Antigua and Barbuda: 83.48, Dominica: 82.44, Grenada: 76.39, Jamaica: 71.09, St. Kitts and Nevis: 70.02, St. Vincent and the Grenadines: 71.13 |
Korea, Rep. (99.88) |
| Procedures (number) |
5.0 |
5.0 |
Antigua and Barbuda: 4.0, Dominica: 5.0, Grenada: 5.0, Jamaica: 7.0, St. Kitts and Nevis: 4.0, St. Vincent and the Grenadines: 3.0 |
14 Economies (3.00) |
| Time (days) |
19.0 |
19.0 |
Antigua and Barbuda: 42.0, Dominica: 61.0, Grenada: 38.0, Jamaica: 95.0, St. Kitts and Nevis: 18.0, St. Vincent and the Grenadines: 52.0 |
Korea, Rep. (18.00) |
| Cost (% of income per capita) |
197.6 |
191.8 |
Antigua and Barbuda: 118.8, Dominica: 461.1, Grenada: 196.4, Jamaica: 242.9, St. Kitts and Nevis: 264.3, St. Vincent and the Grenadines: 55.6 |
Japan (0.00) |
| Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff index (0-8) |
6.0 |
6.0 |
Antigua and Barbuda: 5.0, Dominica: 7.0, Grenada: 4.0, Jamaica: 7.0, St. Kitts and Nevis: 0.0, St. Vincent and the Grenadines: 0.0 |
18 Economies (8.00) |
| Topic |
St. Lucia DB2016 |
St. Lucia DB2015 |
Comparator Economies |
Best Performer |
| Registering Property |
Rank: 104 |
Rank: 102 |
Antigua and Barbuda: 118, Dominica: 165, Grenada: 139, Jamaica: 122, St. Kitts and Nevis: 170, St. Vincent and the Grenadines: 160 |
New Zealand (1) |
| Registering Property (DTF Score) |
59.19 |
59.2 |
Antigua and Barbuda: 55.75, Dominica: 43.41, Grenada: 50.16, Jamaica: 53.7, St. Kitts and Nevis: 40.31, St. Vincent and the Grenadines: 44.17 |
New Zealand (94.46) |
| Procedures (number) |
9.0 |
9.0 |
Antigua and Barbuda: 7.0, Dominica: 5.0, Grenada: 8.0, Jamaica: 8.0, St. Kitts and Nevis: 6.0, St. Vincent and the Grenadines: 7.0 |
4 Economies (1.00) |
| Time (days) |
17.0 |
17.0 |
Antigua and Barbuda: 39.0, Dominica: 42.0, Grenada: 32.0, Jamaica: 18.0, St. Kitts and Nevis: 82.0, St. Vincent and the Grenadines: 38.0 |
3 Economies (1.00) |
| Cost (% of property value) |
7.6 |
7.6 |
Antigua and Barbuda: 10.8, Dominica: 13.3, Grenada: 7.4, Jamaica: 9.8, St. Kitts and Nevis: 13.2, St. Vincent and the Grenadines: 11.8 |
Saudi Arabia (0.00) |
| Quality of the land administration index (0-30) |
18.5 |
18.5 |
Antigua and Barbuda: 19.0, Dominica: 4.5, Grenada: 7.0, Jamaica: 14.0, St. Kitts and Nevis: 9.0, St. Vincent and the Grenadines: 7.0 |
3 Economies (28.50) |
| Topic |
St. Lucia DB2016 |
St. Lucia DB2015 |
Comparator Economies |
Best Performer |
| Getting Credit |
Rank: 152 |
Rank: 150 |
Antigua and Barbuda: 152, Dominica: 133, Grenada: 133, Jamaica: 7, St. Kitts and Nevis: 152, St. Vincent and the Grenadines: 152 |
New Zealand (1) |
| Getting Credit (DTF Score) |
25 |
25 |
Antigua and Barbuda: 25, Dominica: 30, Grenada: 30, Jamaica: 85, St. Kitts and Nevis: 25, St. Vincent and the Grenadines: 25 |
New Zealand (100) |
| Strength of legal rights index (0-12) |
5.0 |
5.0 |
Antigua and Barbuda: 5.0, Dominica: 6.0, Grenada: 6.0, Jamaica: 10.0, St. Kitts and Nevis: 5.0, St. Vincent and the Grenadines: 5.0 |
3 Economies (12.00) |
| Depth of credit information index (0-8) |
0.0 |
0.0 |
Antigua and Barbuda: 0.0, Dominica: 0.0, Grenada: 0.0, Jamaica: 7.0, St. Kitts and Nevis: 0.0, St. Vincent and the Grenadines: 0.0 |
26 Economies (8.00) |
| Credit registry coverage (% of adults) |
0.0 |
0.0 |
Antigua and Barbuda: 0.0, Dominica: 0.0, Grenada: 0.0, Jamaica: 0.0, St. Kitts and Nevis: 0.0, St. Vincent and the Grenadines: 0.0 |
Portugal (100.00) |
| Credit bureau coverage (% of adults) |
0.0 |
0.0 |
Antigua and Barbuda: 0.0, Dominica: 0.0, Grenada: 0.0, Jamaica: 22.4, St. Kitts and Nevis: 0.0, St. Vincent and the Grenadines: 0.0 |
22 Economies (100.00) |
| Topic |
St. Lucia DB2016 |
St. Lucia DB2015 |
Comparator Economies |
Best Performer |
| Paying Taxes |
Rank: 83 |
Rank: 78 |
Antigua and Barbuda: 161, Dominica: 98, Grenada: 132, Jamaica: 146, St. Kitts and Nevis: 147, St. Vincent and the Grenadines: 97 |
United Arab Emirates (1) |
| Paying Taxes (DTF Score) |
75.04 |
75.04 |
Antigua and Barbuda: 54.35, Dominica: 72.49, Grenada: 64.46, Jamaica: 60.95, St. Kitts and Nevis: 60.64, St. Vincent and the Grenadines: 72.76 |
United Arab Emirates (99.44) |
| Payments (number per year) |
35.0 |
35.0 |
Antigua and Barbuda: 57.0, Dominica: 37.0, Grenada: 42.0, Jamaica: 37.0, St. Kitts and Nevis: 39.0, St. Vincent and the Grenadines: 36.0 |
Hong Kong SAR (12.00) |
| Cost of tax compliance (% of income per capita) |
5.0 |
5.0 |
Antigua and Barbuda: 6.0, Dominica: 10.0, Grenada: 6.0, Jamaica: 5.0, St. Kitts and Nevis: 5.0, St. Vincent and the Grenadines: 6.0 |
3 Economies (12.00) |
Key Information
- Region: Latin America & Caribbean
- Income Category: Upper middle income
- Population: 183,598
- GNI per capita (US$): 7,090
- DB2016 Rank: 77
- DB2015 Rank: 73 (adjusted for methodology changes)
- Change in Rank: -4
- DB2016 DTF: 64.2
- DB2015 DTF: 64.19
- Change in DTF: +0.01
Methodological Changes
- The distance to frontier (DTF) score is used to measure the absolute distance to regulatory best practices, not just relative rankings.
- Starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, enforcing contracts, and labor market regulation indicators have been updated.
- Trading across borders has undergone a substantial methodological revision.
- Protecting minority investors now includes more aspects of limited companies and shareholder governance.
Key Insights
- St. Lucia ranks 77th in the ease of doing business ranking, with a DTF score of 64.2, indicating it is relatively close to the best practices.
- In starting a business, St. Lucia has 5 procedures, taking 11 days and costing 22.4% of income per capita, which is better than most comparator economies.
- For dealing with construction permits, St. Lucia has 14 procedures, taking 116 days and costing 0.7% of warehouse value, with a DTF score of 74.51.
- Getting electricity involves 5 procedures, taking 19 days and costing 197.6% of income per capita, with a DTF score of 84.7.
- Registering property involves 9 procedures, taking 17 days and costing 7.6% of property value, with a DTF score of 59.19.
- Getting credit has a DTF score of 25, indicating significant room for improvement.
- Paying taxes involves 35 payments, with a DTF score of 75.04, and the cost is 5.0% of income per capita.
Conclusion
The Doing Business 2016 report provides a comprehensive overview of the regulatory environment for businesses in St. Lucia, highlighting both strengths and areas for improvement. The report is a useful tool for policymakers to identify reform opportunities and track progress over time.
