Time required to start a business in Iceland

Iceland: Time required to start a business was 11.5 days in 2019. ▲ Rising

Latest (2019)
11.5 days
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
98th
of 188 countries
All-time high
12 days
in 2014
All-time low
4.5 days
in 2011
Years of data
16
2004–2019

Time required to start a business in Iceland, 2004–2019

02.557.51012.52004201120192004: 5 days2005: 5 days2006: 5 days2007: 5 days2008: 5 days2009: 5 days2010: 5 days2011: 4.5 days2012: 4.5 days2013: 4.5 days2014: 12 days2015: 12 days2016: 11.5 days2017: 11.5 days2018: 11.5 days2019: 11.5 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 Iceland stood at 11.5 days.

The figure is up 130.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, time required to start a business in Iceland peaked at 12 days in 2014 and was at its lowest, 4.5 days, in 2011.

Iceland ranks 98th of 188 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 16 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 5 days 5 days 5 days 6
2010s 8.85 days 4.5 days 12 days 10

Countries ranked near Iceland

  1. 98 Argentina 11.5 days compare
  2. 98 Bahamas 11.5 days compare
  3. 98 San Marino 11.5 days compare

See the full ranking of 188 places →

More reference data data for Iceland

All data for Iceland →

Frequently asked questions

What is time required to start a business in Iceland?
Time required to start a business in Iceland was 11.5 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 Iceland?
The highest recorded value was 12 days in 2014.
What is the lowest time required to start a business recorded in Iceland?
The lowest recorded value was 4.5 days in 2011.
How does Iceland rank for time required to start a business?
Iceland ranks 98th out of 188 countries with data for 2019.
Is time required to start a business rising or falling in Iceland?
Over the last ten years it is up 130.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Iceland 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 — 16 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.