The country ranks 13th in the look at business regulations by the World Bank and its International Financial Corp. arm, and is lauded particularly in the area of starting up a business. Canada actually slipped one notch, to 13th spot overall, but is still among the top countries of 183 listed.

Ranking ahead of Canada are Singapore, Hong Kong, New Zealand, the U.S., Denmark, Norway, Britain, South Korea, Iceland, Ireland, Finland and Saudi Arabia.

Those at the bottom of the list include a handful of African countries and Venezuela. The winner of the bottom spot is Chad, which got knocked off the second-to-last position that it held last year by the Central African Republic.

Overall in the world, things are getting better, according to the report, notably in Sub-Saharan Africa, where both starting a business and doing business have become easier. Around the world, 125 governments brought in 245 reforms.

"Starting a business is a leap of faith under any circumstances," the report said

For the poor, starting a business or finding a job is an important way out of poverty. In most parts of the world small and medium-size businesses are often the main job creators.Yet entrepreneurs in developing economies tend to encounter greater obstacles than their counterparts in high-income economies."