Press release: New study reveals the top European countries for new business entrepreneurs
Published: Jun 2022
8th June 2022 – Investing in a new business at home can be difficult at the best of times, but it can be even trickier when you want to begin new business ventures overseas. However, with searches for ‘How to start a new business’ increasing by 200% in the past years, it is safe to say people are looking at ways to invest.
To give an idea of the best countries overseas to start a business in and using data garnered from a variety of statistical websites, such as Statista, Blacktower Financial Management Group ranked 31 countries across Europe as the best places for entrepreneurs, based on the percentage of the population with university degrees, average net salary, corporate tax rate, cost of living, and office renting cost per square metre.
The report analysed and assigned a value of 1-5 for each factor, each factor being weighed differently. For example, low corporation tax and higher degree percentage in the population would have scored higher.
The countries were then ranked based on which had the highest score overall when the score of our five chosen factors were combined together.
Rank
Country
Degree Prevalence (%)
Average Net Salary (€)
Corporate Tax Rate (%)
Cost of Living (€)
Annual Office Renting Cost Per Square Metre (€)
1
Lithuania
38.7
1059
15
567.79
204
2
Cyprus
40.2
1658
12.5
712.25
156
3
Bulgaria
25.6
665
10
486.92
240
4
Hungary
23.6
950
9
486.49
162
5
Estonia
37.1
1214
20
661.08
228
6
Latvia
33.2
1050
20
599.41
216
7
Poland
28.9
1002
19
515.22
294
8
Slovenia
31.5
1363
19
655.07
180
9
Romania
16.2
785
16
463.1
228
10
Croatia
22
974
18
585.85
207
11
Slovakia
23.9
919
21
566.8
204
12
Portugal
25.4
1110
21
533.65
288
13
Greece
28.5
1116
24
640.16
252
14
Ireland
42.8
3041
12.5
853.97
673
15
Spain
36
2039
25
619.47
408
16
Finland
39.8
2509
20
812.57
444
17
Czech Republic
21.1
1250
19
603.35
288
18
Belgium
37.6
2442
25
813.53
315
19
Netherlands
36.6
2152
25
908.98
221
20
Malta
28.1
1021
35
733.45
175
21
Luxembourg
40.9
3573
24.9
960.25
427
22
Austria
31.3
3104
25
840.73
312
23
Sweden
38.3
2770
20.6
838.62
1022
24
Denmark
33.7
3914
22
937.2
275
25
Italy
17.9
1752
24
757.29
360
26
UK
40.6
2454
19
786.61
1513
27
Norway
38.8
3795
22
1134.4
562
28
France
35.3
2791
26.5
849.99
890
29
Iceland
36.8
3221
20
1102.01
858
30
Germany
27.2
2952
30
802.35
540
31
Switzerland
39.3
4902
14.9
1415.75
688
Eastern Europe and the Baltic countries are the most promising
One place new business can thrive is in those nations whose economies are rising quickly to begin competing with those of other more established countries, like France and the UK. Interestingly, the majority of the top countries sat firmly in Eastern Europe.
At the top of the ranking for promising countries for new business entrepreneurs is Lithuania. With a corporate tax rate of just 15%, and low office renting costs, establishing, and turning a profit with a new business could be simpler than anticipated.
Next up, we have Cyprus and Bulgaria. Cyprus has an even lower corporate tax rate, just 12.5%, but its higher cost of living puts it just below Lithuania. Bulgaria, on the other hand, sits in third place due to its low degree percentage. However, all three countries could make prime new business investment opportunities.
Countries offering the lowest rent costs and corporate tax
Besides Cyprus and Hungary, some of the countries with the lowest rent costs include Malta, Slovakia, and the Netherlands. Paying lower costs for good office space is always helpful for a new business, allowing you to invest resources elsewhere.
And to save funds on corporate tax, then Ireland, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic make for good options outside of the top ten.
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