The Top 10 European Countries to Start a Business (Infographic) If you want to run a business, not just work at one, then these 10 countries are worth researching.

By Matthew McCreary

You're reading Entrepreneur Europe, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

SmallBusinessPrices.co.uk

Starting a successful business is really hard. Not only do you need to work hard to see your vision through, to take on multiple roles and to take risks, but you also need a little luck along the way. You need to have the right sort of support around you, which can help you overcome tough times and thrive during the good ones.

Related: 5 European Countries Great for Startups

A new study by SmallBusinessPrices.co.uk can help you find a country that supports your business ambitions. The study weighs education levels, employment rates and several other factors to break down the top 10 European countries where you can start a business. Those top three are, in order:

  1. Ireland ranked first among the European countries in ease of paying taxes and fourth for ease of getting credit. Those low financial thresholds helped it take the top spot despite relatively low numbers in labor participation rate and mean monthly earnings.
  2. Iceland experienced 7.2 percent annual GDP growth, the highest number of any country on the list. Iceland's 83.8 percent labor participation also ranked first among the top 10.
  3. Sweden was ranked as the third-easiest country to start a business and the fourth easiest country for trading across borders. Those numbers helped overcome its relatively low-ranked mean monthly earnings.

For a full list of the top 10 countries, check out the infographic below.

Matthew McCreary

Entrepreneur Staff

Associate Editor, Contributed Content

Matthew McCreary is the associate editor for contributed content at Entrepreneur.com.
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