Time required to start a business in Bulgaria
Bulgaria: Time required to start a business was 23 days in 2019. ▼ Falling
Time required to start a business in Bulgaria, 2003–2019
Source: Doing Business project, World Bank (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in days.
Analysis
In 2019, time required to start a business in Bulgaria stood at 23 days. That is the lowest value across all 17 years on record.
The figure is down 8.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, time required to start a business in Bulgaria peaked at 56 days in 2008 and was at its lowest, 23 days, in 2016.
Bulgaria ranks 41st of 188 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 17 years of available data.
Time required to start a business in Bulgaria, year by year
| Year | days | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 39 days | — |
| 2004 | 39 days | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 39 days | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 39 days | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 39 days | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 56 days | +43.6% |
| 2009 | 25 days | -55.4% |
| 2010 | 25 days | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 25 days | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 25 days | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 25 days | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 25 days | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 25 days | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 23 days | -8.0% |
| 2017 | 23 days | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 23 days | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 23 days | +0.0% |
Bulgaria compared with similar countries
- Bulgaria's 23 days is above the median for high income countries, which is 8.5 days, 2.7× the median. (62 countries reporting)
- Bulgaria's 23 days is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 7.25 days, 3.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 39.43 days | 25 days | 56 days | 7 |
| 2010s | 24.2 days | 23 days | 25 days | 10 |
Countries ranked near Bulgaria
More reference data data for Bulgaria
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.3067 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.2728 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.73 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.2506 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 1.73 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.03 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.608 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.02 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 7.74 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.36 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is time required to start a business in Bulgaria?
- Time required to start a business in Bulgaria was 23 days in 2019, according to Doing Business project, World Bank (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest time required to start a business recorded in Bulgaria?
- The highest recorded value was 56 days in 2008.
- What is the lowest time required to start a business recorded in Bulgaria?
- The lowest recorded value was 23 days in 2016.
- How does Bulgaria rank for time required to start a business?
- Bulgaria ranks 41st out of 188 countries with data for 2019.
- Is time required to start a business rising or falling in Bulgaria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Bulgaria data come from?
- The figures come from Doing Business project, World Bank (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Time required to start a business. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 17 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of calendar days needed to complete the procedures to legally operate a business.