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Unfortunately, becoming a business owner is not cheap in many places around the world.

Just as Big Think reports, a budding businessperson has to spend a lot of time and money before they can make a name for themselves.

This includes a series of jumps through administrative hoops to acquire the proper approvals, permits, and licenses, not to mention all the costs that come with that.

So, how much cash do you have to fork out before you can start spooning it in?

Business Financing recently produced a map, using World Bank data, to make it easier to find out based on where you are in the world:

For a better view, click here and the map can be shown in full size.

The map converted all local currencies into US dollars to make comparisons easier.

Using this metric, the most expensive country in the world to start a business, at $7 443, is the United Arab Emirates.

Rwanda is one of the cheapest countries, with no cost for the first two years, along with Slovenia, where there is only a requirement to have capital of $8 900.

However, these amounts should also be considered against the local living standard, which determines relative affordability:

 For example, setting up shop in Kazakhstan costs $12, which is just two per cent of the average monthly wage.

Doing the same in Congo costs $1 232, which is more than two times the Congolese annual income.

That gives a lot more context for what it means to start a business in a country that otherwise could seem cheap.

Europe is a mixed bag when it comes to the cost of setting up a business:

On the low end of the scale, twelve countries have fees of less than $100. On the high end, eleven countries require more than $1 000.

The UK ($17) is the cheapest and Italy ($4 895) is the most expensive.

Setting up shop in the US ($725) is only half as expensive as Mexico ($1 463) but more than four times that of Canada ($166).

However, in America, the cost of setting up a business is just 16% of the average monthly paycheck ($4 458), which is better than the affordability of becoming a business owner in Mexico, where it equals nearly two and a half average monthly paycheques.

Africa’s low wages are a double-edged sword and hurt those trying to make a name for themselves:

In absolute terms, the most expensive African country is tiny Equatorial Guinea ($2 322), where becoming an entrepreneur can cost 7,2 average monthly paychecks.

In the continent’s economic powerhouses like South Africa, setting up can cost less than $13.

In Asia and Oceania setting up is both cheap and affordable, with not a single four-figure fee insight.

It is the most difficult to open something up in Cambodia, while New Zealand is both easy and affordable:

Starting a business in NZ costs $43,48 — low in absolute terms and even lower in relative terms: just two per cent of the average monthly paycheck ($2 838).

On top of that, the World Bank rates New Zealand first in terms of ease of starting a business: just one procedure, and you’re up and running in less than a day.

Those costs of getting up and running are just the tip of the iceberg, of course.

As we have learnt in recent times, one has to be prepared for all sorts of curveballs.

[source:bigthink]