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Companies around the world face a variety of obstacles when engaging in business -- from long delays in securing permits and licenses in some countries to dealing with corrupt government officials in others. The costs in terms of economic growth and job creation can be enormous. This page will help you understand some of the challenges facing a business in the selected country. It is based on surveys of over 100,000 firms worldwide.

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Colombia (2006)

Region :: Latin America & Caribbean
Income category :: Upper middle income
Population :: 44,534,000
GNI per capita (US$) :: 4,658
Number of firms surveyed :: 1000

Regulations And Tax	Colombia	Region	All countries
Senior Management Time Spent in Dealing with Requirements of Government Regulation (%)	14.27	11.93	8.55
Average number of visits or required meetings with tax officials.	0.61	1.44	2.16
If there were visits, Average number of visits or required meetings with tax officials.	2.42	2.78	3.21
% of Firms Identifying Tax Rates as Major Constraint***	43.37	36.72	35.35
% of Firms Identifying Tax Administration as Major Constraint***	32.88	27.48	23.49

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Permits And Licenses	Colombia	Region	All countries
Days to Obtain Operating License	28.20	48.70	28.78
Days to Obtain Construction-related Permit	46.96	82.52	66.39
Days to Obtain Import License	11.64	25.67	19.57
% of Firms Identifying Business Licensing and Permits as Major Constraint***	8.76	15.89	15.24

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Corruption	Colombia	Region	All countries
% of Firms Expected to Pay Informal Payment to Public Officials (to Get Things Done)	8.23	22.72	27.37
% of Firms Expected to Give Gifts to Get an Operating License	0.82	10.52	15.95
% of Firms Expected to Give Gifts In Meetings With Tax Officials	1.05	7.47	16.81
% of Firms Expected to Give Gifts to Secure a Government Contract**	5.11	15.00	30.26
% of Firms Identifying Corruption as a Major Constraint***	48.93	53.63	36.59

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Crime	Colombia	Region	All countries
% of Firms Paying for Security	78.86	64.92	56.76
Losses Due to Theft, Robbery, Vandalism, and Arson Against the Firm (% of Sales)	0.68	1.01	1.03
If there were losses, Losses Due to Theft, Robbery, Vandalism, and Arson Against the Firm (% of Sales)	2.86	3.80	4.71
Security Costs (% of Sales)	1.32	1.48	1.45
Security Costs if the establishment pays for security (% of Sales)	1.69	2.52	2.82
Products Shipped to Supply Domestic Markets Lost Due to Theft (%)*	0.14	0.78	0.91
% of Firms Identifying Crime, Theft and Disorder as Major Constraints***	29.35	34.71	25.53

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Informality	Colombia	Region	All countries
% of Firms expressing that a Typical Firm Reports less than 100% of Sales for Tax Purposes	38.68	47.77	52.11
% of Services Firms Competing Against Unregistered or Informal Firms	55.07	66.19	56.07
% of Firms Formally Registered when Started Operations in the Country	85.63	92.54	89.00
Number of years firms operated without formal registration	1.36	0.54	0.99

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Gender	Colombia	Region	All countries
% of Firms With Female Participation in Ownership	43.04	38.94	33.58
% of Full Time Female Workers*	52.46	31.26	29.02
% of Female Permanent Full-time Non-production Workers *	16.81	12.64	9.38
% of Firms With Female Top Manager	..	17.89	17.62

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Finance	Colombia	Region	All countries
% of Firms with Line of Credit or Loans from Financial Institutions	52.34	46.97	34.50
% of Firms Using Banks to Finance Investments	30.55	20.66	23.43
% of Firms Using Banks to Finance Expenses	55.71	36.34	27.53
Value of Collateral Needed for a Loan (% of the Loan Amount)	113.36	133.90	144.21
% of Firms Identifying Access to Finance as a Major Constraint***	22.31	27.76	30.94

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Infrastructure	Colombia	Region	All countries
Number of Power Outages in a Typical Month	0.95	2.68	8.92
If there were outages, Duration of Power Outages (hours)	2.63	7.59	5.46
Value Lost Due to Power Outages (% of Sales)	2.27	4.19	4.90
If a generator is used, Electricity from Generator (%) *	5.07	18.41	19.90
Delay in Obtaining an Electrical Connection (days)	26.42	34.44	37.32
Average number of Incidents of Water Insufficiency in a Typical Month*	1.31	3.97	6.32
If there were shortages, Average Duration of the Water Shortage (hours)*	17.91	16.02	12.86
Delay in Obtaining a Water Connections (days)	17.04	34.11	34.96
Delay in Obtaining a Mainline Telephone Connection (days)	16.77	34.83	26.31

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Innovation and Technology	Colombia	Region	All countries
% of Firms With Internationally-Recognized Quality Certification	5.88	14.84	15.81
% of Firms with Annual Financial Statement Reviewed by External Auditor	47.19	52.34	46.32
% of Firms Using Technology Licensed from Foreign Companies *	2.80	12.92	14.89
% of Firms using its Own Website	29.02	41.67	33.58

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Trade	Colombia	Region	All countries
Average Time to Clear Direct Exports Through Customs (days)	7.04	7.29	6.15
Average Time to Clear Imports from Customs (days)*	12.09	13.15	10.82
% of Exporter Firms	14.76	20.19	17.92
% of Firms that Use Material Inputs and/or Supplies of Foreign origin*	52.32	65.39	60.54
% of Firms that Export Directly	10.36	15.36	13.68
% of Firms that Trade Identifying Customs & Trade Regulations as a Major Constraint***	6.80	16.41	16.46

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Workforce	Colombia	Region	All countries
% of Firms Offering Formal Training*	39.48	43.26	34.37
Average Number of Seasonal/Temporary, Full-Time Employees	4.87	6.93	7.81
Average Number of Permanent, Full Time Employees	24.23	48.77	49.25
% of Firms Identifying Labor Regulations as a Major Constraint***	12.58	18.04	11.43

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Note:
* For survey data collected in 2006 and 2007, this indicator is computed for the Manufacturing module only.
1. Regional averages are computed using the latest year available. For some countries the sample may not be representative of the non-agricultural economy.
2. The graph ranks obstacles identified by firms.
3. Statistics with fewer than five firms are displayed with an "n.a." to maintain confidentiality and should be distinguished from ".." which indicates missing values.
**Please, note that in the case of BEEPS 2008 surveys the question was asked to the firms that have confirmed that they have applied for Government contract in the last fiscal year while in the previous rounds of BEEPS the question was asked to all firms participating in the survey.
*** Due to differences in scales used in the ECA countries in 2002 and 2005 (four points) and those used in the 2008 surveys (five points) indicators based on business constraints questions are not fully comparable. End users are encouraged to keep this in mind when analyzing historical trends. Users can download the raw data for additional information.