Industry, Investment, and Commerce Minister, Hon. Anthony Hylton (left), addressing the Jamaica Business Development Corporation's (JBDC) Business Dialogue Forum
KINGSTON, Jamaica - Jamaica has moved up five places, to be ranked 59th out of 144 nations in the 2015 Forbes Best Countries for Business Report, making it the top country in the Caribbean region to do business.
The country moved up from a ranking of 64th in the 2014 Report.
This was disclosed by Prime Minister the Most. Hon. Portia Simpson Miller during the official opening of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Company, Sutherland Global Services New Kingston offices on January 22.
The improved ranking means that the country has maintained its number one spot among Caribbean countries, as reflected in last year's report.
Caribbean countries to make the list of 144 countries include also Trinidad and Tobago at 63, The Dominican Republic at 87, Guyana at 92, and Haiti at 141.
Forbes, a leading international business magazine, determined the Best Countries for Business by grading 144 nations on 11 different factors: property rights, innovation, taxes, technology, corruption, freedom (personal, trade and monetary), red tape, investor protection and stock market performance. Each category was equally weighted. Countries with data across at least eight categories were enlisted. Denmark ranked among the top 20 countries in 10 of the 11 categories we measured.
European countries represent two-thirds of the top 25 with Denmark repeating in the lead position of the Best Countries for Business. The very bottom of the list features a number of emerging markets restrained by high levels of corruption and little freedom.