Trading Across Borders

This topic looks at the procedural requirements for exporting and importing a standardized cargo of goods. Every official procedure is counted -- from the contractual agreement between the 2 parties to the delivery of goods -- along with the time necessary for completion.

The table below shows the main indicators. They include:

* number of all documents required to export/import goods,
* time necessary to comply with all procedures required to export/import goods, and
* cost associated with all the procedures required to export/import goods

To see the details for a specific economy, use the dropdown box on the right or click on the links below. Click on column headers to sort data.

Export to Excel | Local partners | Methodology
View topic details
Research
Trading on Time (PDF, 100KB), by Simeon Djankov, Caroline Freund, and Cong S. Pham, Nov. 2008 (forthcoming).
Region or Economy Documents for export (number) Time for export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents for import (number) Time for import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container)
East Asia & Pacific 6.7 23.3 902.3 7.1 24.5 948.5
Eastern Europe & Central Asia 7.1 29.7 1,649.1 8.3 31.7 1,822.2
Latin America & Caribbean 6.9 19.7 1,229.8 7.4 22.3 1,384.3
Middle East & North Africa 6.5 23.3 1,024.4 7.6 26.7 1,204.8
OECD 4.5 10.7 1,069.1 5.1 11.4 1,132.7
South Asia 8.5 33.0 1,339.1 9.0 32.5 1,487.3
Sub-Saharan Africa 7.8 34.7 1,878.8 8.8 41.1 2,278.7
Afghanistan 12 74 3,000 11 77 2,600
Albania 7 21 770 9 22 775
Algeria 8 17 1,248 9 23 1,428
Angola 12 68 2,250 9 62 3,325
Antigua and Barbuda 5 15 1,133 6 15 1,133
Argentina 9 13 1,480 7 18 1,810
Armenia 7 30 1,746 9 24 1,981
Australia 6 9 1,200 6 12 1,239
Austria 4 7 1,125 5 8 1,125
Azerbaijan 9 48 3,075 14 56 3,420
Bahamas, the 6 16 930 6 13 1,380
Bahrain 5 14 805 6 15 845
Bangladesh 6 28 970 8 32 1,375
Belarus 8 20 1,772 8 26 1,720
Belgium 4 8 1,619 5 9 1,600
Belize 7 21 1,810 6 21 2,145
Benin 7 32 1,237 7 40 1,393
Bhutan 8 38 1,210 11 38 2,140
Bolivia 8 19 1,425 7 23 1,747
Bosnia and Herzegovina 6 16 1,070 7 16 1,035
Botswana 6 31 2,508 9 42 3,064
Brazil 8 14 1,240 7 19 1,275
Brunei 6 28 630 6 19 708
Bulgaria 5 23 1,626 7 21 1,776
Burkina Faso 11 45 2,132 11 54 3,630
Burundi 9 47 2,147 10 71 3,705
Cambodia 11 22 732 11 30 872
Cameroon 9 27 995 8 33 1,672
Canada 3 7 1,660 4 11 1,785
Cape Verde 5 19 1,325 5 18 1,129
Central African Republic 8 57 5,121 18 66 5,074
Chad 6 78 5,367 9 102 6,020
Chile 6 21 745 7 21 795
China 7 21 460 6 24 545
Colombia 6 14 1,690 8 15 1,640
Comoros 10 30 1,073 10 21 1,057
Congo, Dem. Rep. 8 46 2,607 9 66 2,483
Congo, Rep. 11 50 2,490 12 62 2,959
Costa Rica 7 18 1,050 8 25 1,050
Côte d'Ivoire 10 23 1,904 9 43 2,437
Croatia 7 20 1,281 8 16 1,141
Czech Republic 4 17 985 7 20 1,087
Denmark 4 5 681 3 5 681
Djibouti 5 19 1,058 5 16 978
Dominica 7 13 1,297 8 15 1,310
Dominican Republic 6 9 916 7 10 1,150
Ecuador 9 20 1,345 7 29 1,332
Egypt 6 14 737 6 15 823
El Salvador 8 14 880 9 10 820
Equatorial Guinea 7 30 1,411 7 49 1,411
Eritrea 9 50 1,431 13 60 1,581
Estonia 3 5 730 4 5 740
Ethiopia 8 46 2,087 8 42 2,893
Fiji 13 24 654 13 24 630
Finland 4 8 495 5 8 575
France 2 9 1,078 2 11 1,248
Gabon 7 20 1,945 8 22 1,955
Gambia, the 6 24 831 8 23 922
Georgia 8 12 1,380 7 14 1,340
Germany 4 7 822 5 7 887
Ghana 6 19 1,003 7 29 1,130
Greece 5 20 1,153 6 25 1,265
Grenada 6 16 1,131 5 20 1,478
Guatemala 10 19 1,182 10 18 1,302
Guinea 7 33 720 9 32 1,191
Guinea-Bissau 6 25 1,545 6 24 2,349
Guyana 7 30 1,050 8 35 1,056
Haiti 8 43 1,020 10 37 1,560
Honduras 7 20 1,163 10 23 1,190
Hong Kong, China 4 6 625 4 5 633
Hungary 5 18 1,300 7 17 1,290
Iceland 5 15 1,109 5 14 1,183
India 8 17 945 9 20 960
Indonesia 5 21 704 6 27 660
Iran 8 26 1,011 10 42 1,656
Iraq 10 102 3,900 10 101 3,900
Ireland 4 7 1,109 4 12 1,121
Israel 5 12 665 4 12 605
Italy 5 20 1,305 5 18 1,305
Jamaica 6 21 1,750 6 22 1,420
Japan 4 10 989 5 11 1,047
Jordan 7 19 730 7 22 1,290
Kazakhstan 11 89 3,005 13 76 3,055
Kenya 9 29 2,055 8 26 2,190
Kiribati 6 21 1,070 7 21 1,070
Korea 4 8 767 6 8 747
Kuwait 8 20 995 10 20 1,152
Kyrgyz Republic 13 64 3,000 13 75 3,250
Lao PDR 9 50 1,860 10 50 2,040
Latvia 6 13 900 6 12 850
Lebanon 5 27 872 7 38 1,073
Lesotho 6 44 1,549 8 49 1,715
Liberia 10 20 1,232 9 17 1,212
Lithuania 6 10 870 6 13 980
Luxembourg 5 6 1,420 4 6 1,420
Macedonia, FYR 6 17 1,315 6 15 1,325
Madagascar 4 23 1,279 9 27 1,660
Malawi 12 45 1,671 10 54 2,550
Malaysia 7 18 450 7 14 450
Maldives 8 21 1,348 9 20 1,348
Mali 9 38 2,012 11 42 2,902
Marshall Islands 5 21 875 5 33 875
Mauritania 11 35 1,520 11 42 1,523
Mauritius 5 17 725 6 16 677
Mexico 5 17 1,472 5 23 2,700
Micronesia 3 30 1,255 6 30 1,255
Moldova 6 32 1,775 7 35 1,895
Mongolia 8 49 2,131 8 49 2,274
Montenegro 9 18 1,710 7 19 1,910
Morocco 7 14 700 10 18 1,000
Mozambique 8 26 1,200 10 32 1,475
Namibia 11 29 1,686 9 24 1,813
Nepal 9 41 1,764 10 35 1,900
Netherlands 4 6 895 5 6 1,020
New Zealand 7 10 868 5 9 850
Nicaragua 5 29 1,300 5 29 1,420
Niger 8 59 3,545 10 64 3,545
Nigeria 10 25 1,179 9 42 1,306
Norway 4 7 780 4 7 709
Oman 10 22 821 10 26 1,037
Pakistan 9 24 611 8 18 680
Palau 6 29 1,170 10 33 1,132
Panama 3 9 729 4 9 879
Papua New Guinea 7 26 664 9 29 722
Paraguay 9 35 915 10 33 1,200
Peru 7 24 875 8 25 895
Philippines 8 16 816 8 16 819
Poland 5 17 884 5 27 884
Portugal 6 16 685 7 16 999
Puerto Rico 7 15 1,250 10 16 1,250
Qatar 5 21 735 7 20 657
Romania 5 12 1,275 6 13 1,175
Russian Federation 8 36 2,150 13 36 2,150
Rwanda 9 42 3,275 10 42 5,070
Samoa 7 27 820 7 31 848
São Tomé and Principe 8 27 690 8 29 577
Saudi Arabia 5 17 681 5 18 678
Senegal 6 14 1,078 5 18 1,920
Serbia 6 12 1,398 6 14 1,559
Seychelles 6 17 1,839 5 19 1,839
Sierra Leone 7 29 1,450 7 34 1,535
Singapore 4 5 456 4 3 439
Slovakia 6 25 1,445 8 25 1,445
Slovenia 6 20 1,075 8 21 1,130
Solomon Islands 7 24 1,011 4 21 1,194
South Africa 8 30 1,445 9 35 1,721
Spain 6 9 1,121 8 10 1,121
Sri Lanka 8 21 865 6 20 895
St. Kitts and Nevis 6 12 850 6 14 938
St. Lucia 5 15 1,425 8 18 1,470
St. Vincent and the Grenadines 6 12 1,770 6 13 1,769
Sudan 6 35 2,050 6 49 2,900
Suriname 8 25 975 7 25 885
Swaziland 9 21 2,184 11 33 2,249
Sweden 4 8 697 3 6 735
Switzerland 4 8 1,537 5 9 1,505
Syria 8 15 1,190 9 21 1,625
Taiwan, China 7 13 757 7 12 769
Tajikistan 10 82 3,150 10 83 4,550
Tanzania 5 24 1,262 7 31 1,475
Thailand 4 14 625 3 13 795
Timor-Leste 6 25 1,010 7 26 1,015
Togo 6 24 940 8 29 963
Tonga 7 19 650 6 25 725
Trinidad and Tobago 5 14 866 6 26 1,100
Tunisia 5 17 733 7 23 858
Turkey 7 14 940 8 15 1,063
Uganda 6 39 3,090 7 37 3,290
Ukraine 6 31 1,230 10 36 1,250
United Arab Emirates 5 10 618 7 10 587
United Kingdom 4 13 1,030 4 13 1,350
United States 4 6 990 5 5 1,245
Uruguay 10 19 1,100 10 22 1,330
Uzbekistan 7 80 3,100 11 104 4,600
Vanuatu 7 26 1,497 9 30 1,392
Venezuela 8 49 2,590 9 71 2,868
Vietnam 6 24 734 8 23 901
West Bank and Gaza 6 25 835 6 40 1,225
Yemen 6 31 1,129 9 28 1,475
Zambia 6 53 2,664 9 64 3,335
Zimbabwe 7 53 2,678 9 73 3,999

http://www.doingbusiness.org/ExploreTopics/TradingAcrossBorders/
http://www.doingbusiness.org/ExploreTopics/TradingAcrossBorders/