UK rated 8th best country for setting up a business

The country is in the top 10 of places in the world to set up a business with its score of 71.3%, although the report has called for more to be done to redefine the UK's enterprise culture.

The report, produced by The Global Entrepreneurship and Development Institute (GEDI), suggests that if entrepreneurship across the UK is improved by just 10%, the economy could be boosted by as much as £450m.

The United States took the top spot in the index with a score of 83.4%, followed by Switzerland (78%) and Canada (75.6%).

In the UK, technology absorption was ranked as the nation's strongest sector, followed by cultural support. The weakest area for UK start-ups was found to be networking.

Jonathan Ortmans, President of the Global Entrepreneur Network, said: "Thanks in part to programmes like Global Entrepreneurship Week and Startup Weekend, the last 10 years have delivered a huge global army of enthusiastic nascent entrepreneurs organised in vibrant communities – but policymakers have been slower in responding.

"Early adaptors such as Airbnb and Uber disrupted long-standing traditional industries, while local, state and federal policymakers around the world were caught off guard in understanding the public policy implications of such dramatic innovation.

"This is just the tip of the iceberg of the digital disruption revolution unfolding.

"Creating a new generation of globally competitive traditional industries will require a willingness of companies to either self-disrupt or deeply engage with the novices working on doing what they do better, faster and cheaper. In addition, it will require a whole new approach from government."

Date published 15 Nov 2016 | Last updated 15 Nov 2016