Governments around the world have made important strides to improve their business regulatory environment," said Augusto Lopez-Claros, World Bank director of global indicators and analysis.
"While the reforms we measure provide only a partial picture of an economy's business climate, they are crucial for key economic outcomes such as faster job growth and new business creation."
Since 2005, the average time to start a business has fallen from 50 to 30 days, the report said.
It also showed that, over the past eight years, tax compliance has generally become much easier around the world. The time required annually to comply with the three major taxes measured - profit, labour, and consumption - has fallen by 54 hours on average.
Over the past year, 108 economies have implemented 201 reforms to make it easier for local entrepreneurs to do business, the report found.
Singapore ranked highest for ease of doing business, for the seventh consecutive year.
Other countries considered to have the most business-friendly regulation were Hong Kong, China, US, Denmark, Norway, and the UK.
The World Bank Group is one of the world's largest sources of funding for developing countries.
