According to the report, “economies are ranked on their ease of doing business, from 1 – 181. A high ranking on the ease of doing business index means the regulatory environment is conducive to the operation of business.” The index averages a country's percentile rankings on 10 topics, ranging from starting a business, employing workers and paying taxes, to closing a business.  Among the Nordic countries, only Denmark tops Norway in the rankings. (see the Doing Business 2009 report, covering the period April 2007 to June 2008, at www.doingbusiness.org/economyrankings).