Time required to start a business in Germany

Germany: Time required to start a business was 8 days in 2019. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2019)
8 days
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
131st
of 188 countries
All-time high
45 days
in 2003
All-time low
8 days
in 2016
Years of data
17
2003–2019

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

10203040502003201120192003: 45 days2004: 45 days2005: 22 days2006: 22 days2007: 18 days2008: 17.5 days2009: 17.5 days2010: 14.5 days2011: 14.5 days2012: 14.5 days2013: 14.5 days2014: 14.5 days2015: 10.5 days2016: 8 days2017: 8 days2018: 8 days2019: 8 days

Source: Doing Business project, World Bank (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in days.

Analysis

Germany recorded 8 days for time required to start a business in 2019. That is the lowest value across all 17 years on record.

That represents a change of down 54.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, time required to start a business in Germany peaked at 45 days in 2003 and was at its lowest, 8 days, in 2016.

Germany ranks 131st of 188 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 26.71 days 17.5 days 45 days 7
2010s 11.5 days 8 days 14.5 days 10

Countries ranked near Germany

  1. 129 Mexico 8.4 days compare
  2. 130 Bahrain 8.3 days compare
  3. 131 Gambia 8 days compare
  4. 131 Madagascar 8 days compare
  5. 131 Sierra Leone 8 days compare
  6. 131 Slovenia 8 days compare
  7. 131 South Korea 8 days compare
  8. 131 Sri Lanka 8 days compare

See the full ranking of 188 places →

More reference data data for Germany

All data for Germany →

Frequently asked questions

What is time required to start a business in Germany?
Time required to start a business in Germany was 8 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 Germany?
The highest recorded value was 45 days in 2003.
What is the lowest time required to start a business recorded in Germany?
The lowest recorded value was 8 days in 2016.
How does Germany rank for time required to start a business?
Germany ranks 131st out of 188 countries with data for 2019.
Is time required to start a business rising or falling in Germany?
Over the last ten years it is down 54.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Germany 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.