Time required to start a business in Estonia

Estonia: Time required to start a business was 3.5 days in 2019. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2019)
3.5 days
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
176th
of 188 countries
All-time high
72 days
in 2003
All-time low
3.5 days
in 2015
Years of data
17
2003–2019

Time required to start a business in Estonia, 2003–2019

0204060802003201120192003: 72 days2004: 72 days2005: 35 days2006: 35 days2007: 6.5 days2008: 6.5 days2009: 6.5 days2010: 6.5 days2011: 6.5 days2012: 6.5 days2013: 6.5 days2014: 4.5 days2015: 3.5 days2016: 3.5 days2017: 3.5 days2018: 3.5 days2019: 3.5 days

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 Estonia stood at 3.5 days. That is the lowest value across all 17 years on record.

That represents a change of down 46.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, time required to start a business in Estonia peaked at 72 days in 2003 and was at its lowest, 3.5 days, in 2015.

Estonia ranks 176th of 188 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 33.36 days 6.5 days 72 days 7
2010s 4.8 days 3.5 days 6.5 days 10

Countries ranked near Estonia

  1. 175 United Arab Emirates 3.8 days compare
  2. 176 Azerbaijan 3.5 days compare
  3. 176 Denmark 3.5 days compare
  4. 176 Netherlands 3.5 days compare

See the full ranking of 188 places →

More reference data data for Estonia

All data for Estonia →

Frequently asked questions

What is time required to start a business in Estonia?
Time required to start a business in Estonia was 3.5 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 Estonia?
The highest recorded value was 72 days in 2003.
What is the lowest time required to start a business recorded in Estonia?
The lowest recorded value was 3.5 days in 2015.
How does Estonia rank for time required to start a business?
Estonia ranks 176th out of 188 countries with data for 2019.
Is time required to start a business rising or falling in Estonia?
Over the last ten years it is down 46.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Estonia 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

Indicator
Time required to start a business
Unit
days
Source
Doing Business project, World Bank (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
188 places, 2,945 data points, 2003–2019
Last refreshed

Number of calendar days needed to complete the procedures to legally operate a business.