Time required to start a business in Iceland
Iceland: Time required to start a business was 11.5 days in 2019. ▲ Rising
Time required to start a business in Iceland, 2004–2019
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.
Time required to start a business in Iceland, year by year
| Year | days | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 5 days | — |
| 2005 | 5 days | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 5 days | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 5 days | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 5 days | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 5 days | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 5 days | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 4.5 days | -10.0% |
| 2012 | 4.5 days | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 4.5 days | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 12 days | +166.7% |
| 2015 | 12 days | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 11.5 days | -4.2% |
| 2017 | 11.5 days | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 11.5 days | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 11.5 days | +0.0% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 11.5 days is above the median for high income countries, which is 8.5 days, 1.4× the median. (62 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 11.5 days is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 7.25 days, 1.6× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5 days | 5 days | 5 days | 6 |
| 2010s | 8.85 days | 4.5 days | 12 days | 10 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
More reference data data for Iceland
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0288 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.0708 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.1854 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0001 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.1854 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0964 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.062 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.2576 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.7664 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0005 (2050)
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
Number of calendar days needed to complete the procedures to legally operate a business.