World's best countries for business

United States continues to trail among the best countries to do business, says the Forbes' annual study of the Best Countries for Business.

Take a look at the 25 best countries for doing business...

New Zealand (Rank 1)
GDP: $162 billion
GDP per capita: $39,300

New Zealand has a transparent and stable business environment that promotes entrepreneurship, says Forbes.

Investors have become richer, with the country's benchmark stock index, the NZX 50, rising by 24% over the past 12 months.

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Denmark (Rank 2)

GDP: $333 billion
GDP per capita: $59,684

Denmark scores well on account of its technology, trade freedom and property rights.

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Hong Kong (Rank 3)

GDP: $244 billion
GDP per capita: $34,457

Hong Kong ranks third, thanks to its technology, trade freedom and property rights.

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Singapore (Rank 4)

GDP: $240 billion
GDP per capita: $46,241

One of the fastest growing economies, Singapore grew by 4.9% last year.

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Canada (Rank 5)

GDP: $1.7 trillion
GDP per capita: $50,345

Losing its score on innovation and technology, Canada's position fell to No. 5 this year.

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Ireland (Rank 6)

GDP: $217 billion
GDP per capita: $48,423

Ireland's economy focuses on services and high-tech industries.

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Sweden (Rank 7)

One of the world's most competitive nations, Sweden has an export-oriented mixed economy.

GDP: $538 billion
GDP per capita: $56,927

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Norway (Rank 8)

GDP: $486 billion
GDP per capita: $98,102

Norway has a developed mixed economy with heavy state-ownership in strategic areas of the economy.

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Finland (Rank 9)

GDP: $266 billion
GDP per capita: $49,391

Finland is one of the world's wealthiest and competitive nations.

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United Kingdom (Rank 10)

GDP: $2.4 trillion
GDP per capita: $38,818

UK is a developed country and has the world's seventh-largest economy by nominal GDP and eighth-largest economy by purchasing power parity.

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Australia (Rank 11)

GDP: $1.4 trillion
GDP per capita: $60,642

A highly developed country, Australia is the world's 12th-largest economy. 

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United States (Rank 12)

GDP: $15.1 trillion
GDP per capita: $48,442

The US economy is the world's largest national economy, with an estimated 2011 GDP of $15.1 trillion (22% of nominal global GDP and over 19% of global GDP at purchasing-power parity).

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Belgium (Rank 13)

GDP: $512 billion
GDP per capita: $46,469

Belgium has a strongly globalised economy and its transport infrastructure is integrated with the rest of Europe.

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The Netherlands (Rank 14)

GDP: $836 billion
GDP per capita: $50,087

The Netherlands has a market-based mixed economy, ranking high on the Index of Economic Freedom.

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15. Switzerland (Rank 15)

GDP: $636 billion
GDP per capita: $80,391

Switzerland is one of the richest countries in the world by per capita gross domestic product, and has the highest wealth per adult (financial and non-financial assets) of any country in the world.

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Taiwan (Rank 16)

GDP: $467 billion
GDP per capita: $20,083

Taiwan has experienced rapid economic growth and industrialization and is now an advanced industrial economy.

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Chile (Rank 17)

GDP: $249 billion
GDP per capita: $14,394

Chile is one of South America's most stable and prosperous nations. It leads Latin American nations in human development, competitiveness, income per capita, globalization, economic freedom, and low perception of corruption.

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Luxembourg (Rank 18)

GDP: $59 billion
GDP per capita: $115,038

Luxembourg's stable and high-income market economy features moderate growth, low inflation, and a high level of innovation.

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Iceland (Rank 19)

GDP: $14 billion
GDP per capita: $44,072

Iceland has a free-market economy with relatively low corporate taxes compared to other OECD countries. Iceland is one of the wealthiest and most developed nations in the world.  

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France (Rank 20)

GDP: $2.8 trillion
GDP per capita: $42,377

France is a developed country, the wealthiest nation in Europe – and the fourth-wealthiest in the world – in aggregate household wealth.

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Germany (Rank 21)

GDP: $3.6 trillion
GDP per capita: $43,689

Germany has the world's fourth largest economy by nominal GDP and the fifth largest by purchasing power parity.

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Estonia (Rank 22)

GDP: $22 billion
GDP per capita: $16,556

Estonia is listed as a 'high-income economy' by the World Bank, is identified as an "advanced economy" by the International Monetary Fund.

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Slovenia (Rank 23)

GDP: $50 billion
GDP per capita: $24,142

Slovenia has a developed economy and is per capita the richest of Slavic states.

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Portugal (Rank 24)

GDP: $238 billion
GDP per capita: $22,330

 Portugal is a developed country with a very high Human Development Index.

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Cyprus (Rank 25)

GDP: $25 billion
GDP per capita: $30,670

The economy has diversified and become prosperous in recent years, in 2012, it was affected by the Eurozone financial and banking crisis.