Greece ranks much lower than countries traditionally considered friendly and reliable for the establishment of innovative businesses – but also from neighboring countries, such as Bulgaria and Romania – in terms of the business environment it offers to founders with ambitions for international growth.

The country ranked 33rd out of 125 countries worldwide in the StartupBlink Innovators Business Environment Index 2026, with a total score of 67,621 points, leaving behind countries such as Hungary (34th), Spain (39th), Brazil (42nd) and Italy (43rd). However, it is far from other European ecosystems that are recommended to new founders as friendlier to run their businesses, such as the United Kingdom (3rd), Sweden (12th), Germany (23rd), Romania (25th) and Bulgaria (18th).

In terms of market perception, i.e. how the international community perceives the country as a place to set up business, Greece occupies 31st place with 69,461 points, while at the top are Singapore (1st), Denmark (2nd) and Norway (3rd). This includes perceptions of the quality of governance, reliability, transparency, stability, human capital and international mobility.

Greece records the lowest score (59,269 points) in business incentives, ranking 32nd globally. This sector demonstrates how attractive a given country is for investors and entrepreneurs, taking into account taxation, incentives, access to financing, etc. In this pillar, the country lags significantly behind neighboring countries such as Bulgaria, Romania and Cyprus.

At the same time, it ranks 34th worldwide in terms of the ease of running one’s business effectively (ease of operating business). Although Greece’s performance in this sector is satisfactory (77,621 points), it still lags behind compared to other European ecosystems.

Source: Ekathimerini.com