Time required to start a business in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: Time required to start a business was 32 days in 2019. ▲ Rising
Time required to start a business in Ethiopia, 2003–2019
Source: Doing Business project, World Bank (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in days.
Analysis
Ethiopia recorded 32 days for time required to start a business in 2019.
That represents a change of up 60.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, time required to start a business in Ethiopia peaked at 47 days in 2003 and was at its lowest, 19 days, in 2006.
That places Ethiopia 31st out of 188 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 17 years of available data.
Time required to start a business in Ethiopia, year by year
| Year | days | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 47 days | — |
| 2004 | 35 days | -25.5% |
| 2005 | 35 days | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 19 days | -45.7% |
| 2007 | 19 days | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 19 days | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 20 days | +5.3% |
| 2010 | 20 days | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 40 days | +100.0% |
| 2012 | 40 days | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 39 days | -2.5% |
| 2014 | 39 days | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 35 days | -10.3% |
| 2016 | 35 days | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 33 days | -5.7% |
| 2018 | 32 days | -3.0% |
| 2019 | 32 days | +0.0% |
Ethiopia compared with similar countries
- Ethiopia's 32 days is above the median for low income countries, which is 14.25 days, 2.2× the median. (24 countries reporting)
- Ethiopia's 32 days is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 14.25 days, 2.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Time required to start a business in Ethiopia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | +100.0% | 20 days | 40 days |
| 2006 | -45.7% | 35 days | 19 days |
| 2004 | -25.5% | 47 days | 35 days |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 27.71 days | 19 days | 47 days | 7 |
| 2010s | 34.5 days | 20 days | 40 days | 10 |
Countries ranked near Ethiopia
- 28 Sudan 34.5 days compare
- 29 Equatorial Guinea 33 days compare
- 29 Philippines 33 days compare
- 31 Seychelles 32 days compare
- 33 Kiribati 31 days compare
- 34 Tanzania 29.5 days compare
More reference data data for Ethiopia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.6564 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 20.69 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 25.11 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 25.11 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.2 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.1 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 100.94 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 121.79 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 7.47 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is time required to start a business in Ethiopia?
- Time required to start a business in Ethiopia was 32 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 Ethiopia?
- The highest recorded value was 47 days in 2003.
- What is the lowest time required to start a business recorded in Ethiopia?
- The lowest recorded value was 19 days in 2006.
- How does Ethiopia rank for time required to start a business?
- Ethiopia ranks 31st out of 188 countries with data for 2019.
- Is time required to start a business rising or falling in Ethiopia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 60.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ethiopia 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.