Spanish
The Adam Smith Center for Economic Freedom at Florida International University (FIU) presented the fifth edition of the Bureaucracy Index 2025, a pioneering analysis that measures the bureaucratic burden faced by medium-sized companies in 21 countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Europe, including the Dominican Republic.
The study evaluates the hours companies must dedicate to regulatory procedures, both to open and to operate formally, revealing how bureaucracy hinders productivity, investment, and innovation.
“What distinguishes this 2025 edition is its emphasis on medium-sized companies, which are often underestimated in statistics, but are essential for the productive architecture due to their ability to generate quality employment, drive innovation, and attract investment,” highlighted Carlos Díaz-Rosillo, founding director of the Adam Smith Center.
Overall results
• Opening a business: formalizing and registering a medium-sized company requires an average of 1,850 hours, the equivalent of 231 working days or almost eight months dedicated exclusively to procedures. • Operation of companies: complying with annual obligations demands around 1,577 hours per year, about 190 working days, which represents 76% of an employee's time dedicated solely to procedures. Dominican Republic: a positive case The Dominican Republic is positioned among the countries with the best results in the index, along with Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Spain, Mexico, Paraguay, Portugal and Uruguay. • Opening of companies: the country is in the group with the lowest relative bureaucratic burden, although the procedures linked to basic services (electricity, water and telecommunications) remain the main challenges. • Operation of companies: maintains one of the lowest administrative burdens in the region, favoring formality and competitiveness. • Overall balance: by combining both indicators, the Dominican Republic is positioned as a regional benchmark in administrative agility and business climate. "These results reaffirm the Dominican Republic's progress in administrative simplification and represent an opportunity to continue strengthening its competitiveness as an investment and entrepreneurship destination," stated the OMG Institute, responsible for the research in the country. Impact and perspectives According to Sary Levy-Carciente, general coordinator of the study, “having updated empirical evidence is key to guiding effective public decisions, especially those that directly impact the business climate, investment, and sustainable development.” The launch event featured the participation of international leaders, such as the former President of Mexico, Felipe Calderón, as well as academics, entrepreneurs, and representatives of civil society from different countries. The complete report with the information for each country is available at: freedom.fiu.edu/indexAbout the Bureaucracy Index 2025
Prepared by the Adam Smith Center for Economic Freedom (FIU), the index measures the hours that medium-sized companies dedicate to bureaucratic procedures in 21 countries. In the Dominican Republic, data collection was carried out by the OMG Institute (Mónica Melo and Ángela Santana).
