Time required to start a business in Guatemala

Guatemala: Time required to start a business was 15 days in 2019. ▼ Falling

Latest (2019)
15 days
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
75th
of 188 countries
All-time high
41 days
in 2003
All-time low
15 days
in 2018
Years of data
17
2003–2019

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

0102030402003201120192003: 41 days2004: 41 days2005: 41 days2006: 37 days2007: 36 days2008: 36 days2009: 36 days2010: 36 days2011: 36 days2012: 36 days2013: 26.5 days2014: 26.5 days2015: 26.5 days2016: 26.5 days2017: 26.5 days2018: 15 days2019: 15 days

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for time required to start a business in Guatemala is 15 days, measured in 2019. That is the lowest value across all 17 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 58.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, time required to start a business in Guatemala peaked at 41 days in 2003 and was at its lowest, 15 days, in 2018.

That places Guatemala 75th out of 188 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 17 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 38.29 days 36 days 41 days 7
2010s 27.05 days 15 days 36 days 10

Countries ranked near Guatemala

  1. 74 Syria 15.5 days compare
  2. 75 Guinea 15 days compare
  3. 75 Lebanon 15 days compare
  4. 75 Lesotho 15 days compare
  5. 75 North Macedonia 15 days compare

See the full ranking of 188 places →

More reference data data for Guatemala

All data for Guatemala →

Frequently asked questions

What is time required to start a business in Guatemala?
Time required to start a business in Guatemala was 15 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 Guatemala?
The highest recorded value was 41 days in 2003.
What is the lowest time required to start a business recorded in Guatemala?
The lowest recorded value was 15 days in 2018.
How does Guatemala rank for time required to start a business?
Guatemala ranks 75th out of 188 countries with data for 2019.
Is time required to start a business rising or falling in Guatemala?
Over the last ten years it is down 58.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Guatemala 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.

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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.