Azerbaijan was ranked ahead of the U.S. in a recent study by the World Bank and the International Finance Corp. that ranked countries on how easy it is for entrepreneurs to start new businesses.

The study, "Doing Business 2014: Understanding Regulations for Small- and Medium-Sized Businesses," narrowly ranked the U.S. ahead of Uzbekistan.

The annual report included 189 countries in its rankings. The organization evaluated countries on the number of procedures required to open a new business, the time spent complying with the procedures, cost of doing so and other factors.

New Zealand topped the rankings as the easiest place in the world to start a new business. The country was noted for having only one procedure that requires half a day to go through. Only 1 percent of income per capita is needed to start and business and there was no paid-in minimum capital, according to the study.

Canada, Singapore, Australia and Hong Kong rounded out the top five in the rankings.

The U.S. requires six procedures, on average, taking five days. It also requires 1.5 percent of a company's income per capita.