Sources & coverage

What this directory covers

250 countries and territories have geographic profiles. 160 profiles include sourced entity-form listings. 3446 distinct active GLEIF legal-form codes are included, with language variants grouped together. The remaining profiles explicitly identify the legal-form coverage gap.

Entity forms can include nonprofit, public-sector, fund and other structures; not every record is a company available to a foreign investor. A state or territorial form may apply only in its named jurisdiction.

Legal forms

GLEIF Entity Legal Forms Code List v1.6 ↗ (19 February 2026). Only active codes are displayed. Selected additional national-authority records are attributed individually. Local names and transliterations are preserved; no legal equivalence between countries is implied.

Registration authorities

GLEIF Registration Authorities List v1.8.1 ↗ (20 November 2024). This contains business registers and other validation sources. Not every source is an incorporation office. External links may have changed since publication. The 90 profiles without legal-form listings now also feature a researched primary authority or guidance destination, dated 16 September 2026. Government information, licensing guidance and territory-status sources are labelled separately from company registries. Not every jurisdiction has a verified public company-search service, and some official sites restrict access or respond intermittently.

Geographic information

mledoze/countries ↗ supplies country names, capitals, regions, currencies and languages under the Open Database License. Names and inclusion are geographic references, not statements about sovereignty.

Download the geographic database · Read the ODbL licence

Investment policy

UNCTAD Country Navigator ↗ is linked as a research resource. Country-specific policy conclusions have not been inferred from directory membership.

What still needs local verification

This directory does not yet provide a fully verified legal guide for every jurisdiction. Foreign ownership, nationality restrictions, minimum capital, incorporation costs, tax rates, filing deadlines, processing times and immigration conditions must be confirmed for the chosen activity and structure.

Focused official guidance is included on selected country pages. General preparation questions elsewhere are explicitly labelled. No approval, tax outcome, banking access or immigration benefit is promised.

Privacy

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