The information on this page was current at the time it was published. Regulations, trends, statistics, and other information are constantly changing. While we strive to update our Knowledge Base, we strongly suggest you use these pages as a general guide and be sure to verify any regulations, statistics, guidelines, or other information that are important to your efforts.

Governance In Germany

A stable and effective government is one of the areas worth considering for any global expansion.  The regulatory environment toward business is also a factor. Germany's government is stable and effective, and while it does impose some hurdles in setting up a business, the German economy is the largest in the EU and worth entering.

In this section, we look at several reports gathered by the World Bank Group and Transparency International, all of which rank Germany's government against a number of other countries in the ease of doing business, effective governance, and perceived public sector corruption.  Germany does well in these comparisons, as you’ll see below.

Ease of doing business in Germany

In its Doing Business 2017 report, the World Bank Group ranks Germany 17th out of 190 countries for ease of doing business within the country as a small or medium-sized company. Specifically, regulations applying to companies through their life cycle are considered. A high ranking indicates that the German regulatory environment is relatively more conducive to starting and operating a company locally. The World Bank Group ranking takes into consideration the following parameters:

• Starting a Business

• Dealing with Construction Permits

• Getting Electricity

• Registering Property

• Getting Credit

• Protecting Minority Investors

• Paying Taxes

• Trading across Borders

• Enforcing Contracts

• Resolving Insolvency

With its rank of 17th out of 190 countries, the World Bank Group considers it relatively easy for small and medium-sized companies to do business in Germany. 

Ease of doing business resources

World Bank Group Doing Business 2017: Equal Opportunity For All

To see the World Bank Group's rankings, including Germany

For specific World Bank Group ranking information on Germany

The effectiveness of Germany’s governance

The World Bank Group also evaluates and reports on the governance effectiveness of over 200 countries in their Worldwide Governance Indicators reports, and Germany ranks very highly on all of its governance effectiveness aggregate scores - another reason to consider doing business in that country. The six parameters for which perceptions are captured and Germany's scores are:  

Voice and Accountability - 95.6

The extent to which a country's citizens are able to participate in selecting their government, as well as freedom of expression, freedom of association, and a free media

Political Stability and Absence of Violence/Terrorism - 70 

The likelihood of political instability and/or politically-motivated violence, including terrorism

Government Effectiveness - 94.2

The quality of public services, the quality of the civil service and the degree of its independence from political pressures, the quality of policy formulation and implementation, and the credibility of the government's commitment to such policies

Regulatory Quality - 93.3

The ability of the government to formulate and implement sound policies and regulations that permit and promote private sector development

Rule of Law - 92.8

The extent to which agents have confidence in and abide by the rules of society, and in particular the quality of contract enforcement, property rights, the police, and the courts, as well as the likelihood of crime and violence

Control of Corruption - 93.3

The extent to which public power is exercised for private gain, including both petty and grand forms of corruption, as well as "capture" of the state by elites and private interests

What is Governance?

According to the World Bank Group, “Governance consists of the traditions and institutions by which authority in a country is exercised.  This includes the process by which governments are selected, monitored and replaced; the capacity of the government to effectively formulate and implement sound policies; and the respect of citizens and the state for the institutions that govern economic and social interactions among them.”

The significance of Rule of Law

When asked about which factor is most important when evaluating which countries to do business in, many companies will say that Rule of Law is their biggest concern.

As stated above in the Worldwide Governance Indicators results, The Rule of Law concept considers the extent to which business operators within a select country have confidence in and abide by the rules or laws of that society. Some of the characteristics that should be evaluated to make a sound decision encompasses the clarity, certainty and predictability of laws and their application.

Some considerations are:

• Contract enforcement consistency

• Adherence to property rights (personal, business, intellectual)

• Ability and effectiveness of the courts to make and enforce laws

• The likelihood and ability of the police to enforce laws

• The extent of crime and violence

Some of the specific practices to watch out for are the freedom from expropriation, physical security of persons, respect for contracts, access to effective and efficient courts, and government adherence to agreements and clear dispute resolution procedures. Well-functioning law and justice institutions and a government bound by the rule of law are important to economic, political and social development.

Germany received its lowest score in the category of Political Stability and Absence of Violence/Terrorism -  the likelihood of political instability and/or politically-motivated violence, including terrorism.  Even as it’s lowest score, it still comes in at 70. The World Bank Group explains how a country that appears quite stable can see a lower score in this area. ‘This indicator does not measure how long a particular government has been in power.  Instead, it captures perceptions of the likelihood of politically-motivated violence, including terrorism.  Thus the United States for example has a sharp decline in this dimension between 2000 and 2002. This happened not because the political process in the United States is now perceived as more unstable than in the 1990s.  Rather, it reflects perceptions of the risk of terrorist attacks on the United States that increased sharply following the events of September 11, 2001.  Similarly, countries that are functioning democracies, but are marred by domestic politically-motivated violence, may also not score well on this indicator.’

The Worldwide Governance Indicators Report provides an extensive list of resources to help you dig into their ratings. As you can see by their numbers, Germany is considered by this review to be an effective and stable government.  

Resources

For a list of reports for the countries evaluated in the Worldwide Governance Report, including Germany

For the World Bank Group’s World Governance Indicators site

For a Worldwide Governance Indicators Report page with options to interact with the data, including graphs, tables, and maps for one or more countries

World Values Survey

Perceived public sector corruption levels

Every year, Transparency International publishes a report on perceived public sector corruption around the world. Their latest report, Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index 2016, reports on 175 countries.  Transparency International looks at a number of areas where corruption can take place, including topics such as public procurement and judiciary. 

Germany tied for a rank of 10th out the 215 countries evaluated, with a total score of 81 out of 100 (a perfect score is 100, and the highest score earned was 90 by Denmark). So what does this mean for you? There is a low likelihood of corruption stemming from the regulations placed by the government on businesses, the courts are fair, and you will not be expected to conduct business through bribes or kickbacks.

Take advantage of local experts

Even in a country with effective governance and low corruption, there are many regulatory and tax rules to follow. Through the Globig Marketplace, you can find local German legal and regulatory experts to help you be sure you are following the subtleties of the laws within Germany. If you are in doubt on any legal requirements in Germany, we recommend you contact an appropriate law firm. Find experts who can help you with tax laws, and those who can walk you through the process of setting up a business in Germany. The Globig Marketplace provides a list of firms for your consideration, both local and global.

World Bank Group Doing Business 2017: Equal Opportunity For All

To see the World Bank Group's rankings, including Germany

For specific World Bank Group Ranking information on Germany

For a list of reports for the countries evaluated in the Worldwide Governance Report, including Germany

For the World Bank Group’s Worldwide Governance Indicators site

For a page in the World Bank Group’s Worldwide Governance Indicators site with options to interact with the data, including graphs, tables, and maps for one or more countries

World Values Survey

For information about Transparency International

Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index 2016

For more information on the areas of corruption that Transparency International analyzes