El Salvador has been recognized as the sixth least bureaucratic country in Ibero-America for starting a business, according to the Bureaucracy Index 2025 published by Florida International University (FIU).

The report, prepared by FIU’s Adam Smith Center, indicates that opening a business in El Salvador takes an average of 790 hours, equivalent to 98.7 days. This places the country in sixth position among 18 nations in Latin America and the Caribbean, plus Spain, Portugal, and Italy.

The study highlights that this is the first time El Salvador has been included in the index, which provides what it calls an “exhaustive analysis” of each nation’s regulatory environment, with a focus on medium-sized enterprises.

On average, business owners in El Salvador must interact with 13 institutions—11 public and two private—completing 52 procedures to set up operations. Maintaining a company requires 68 additional procedures before 11 institutions, consuming more than 456 hours, or about 57 business days. “Tax payments to the Ministry of Finance and occupational safety and health procedures with the Ministry of Health are the most time-consuming,” the report notes.

The index also revealed that companies in the agricultural sector face the highest regulatory burden, with over 1,402 hours needed to comply with requirements, compared to 696 hours in construction and 297 hours in consumer services. Despite this, the annual cost of maintaining a business in El Salvador averages just $513, reflecting a relatively low administrative and labor expense.

Regionally, Brazil leads the list as the least bureaucratic country, requiring only 284 hours to start a business, followed by Portugal, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Paraguay. In contrast, Chile, Argentina, and Panama are considered the most bureaucratic, with thousands of hours required.

In Central America, El Salvador stands out as the least bureaucratic, while Panama remains the most complex environment for entrepreneurs.