Time required to start a business in Iraq
Iraq: Time required to start a business was 26.5 days in 2019. ▼ Falling
Time required to start a business in Iraq, 2004–2019
Source: Doing Business project, World Bank (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in days.
Analysis
Iraq recorded 26.5 days for time required to start a business in 2019. That is the lowest value across all 16 years on record.
That represents a change of down 13.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, time required to start a business in Iraq peaked at 34.5 days in 2015 and was at its lowest, 26.5 days, in 2017.
That places Iraq 37th out of 188 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 16 years of available data.
Time required to start a business in Iraq, year by year
| Year | days | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 30.5 days | — |
| 2005 | 30.5 days | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 29.5 days | -3.3% |
| 2007 | 30.5 days | +3.4% |
| 2008 | 30.5 days | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 30.5 days | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 30.5 days | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 30.5 days | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 27.5 days | -9.8% |
| 2013 | 27.5 days | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 27.5 days | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 34.5 days | +25.5% |
| 2016 | 34.5 days | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 26.5 days | -23.2% |
| 2018 | 26.5 days | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 26.5 days | +0.0% |
Iraq compared with similar countries
- Iraq's 26.5 days is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 12 days, 2.2× the median. (55 countries reporting)
- Iraq's 26.5 days is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 14 days, 1.9× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 30.33 days | 29.5 days | 30.5 days | 6 |
| 2010s | 29.2 days | 26.5 days | 34.5 days | 10 |
Countries ranked near Iraq
More reference data data for Iraq
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.2116 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 3.19 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 7.23 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.3911 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 7.23 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.7096 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.235 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 13.21 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 30.36 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.13 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is time required to start a business in Iraq?
- Time required to start a business in Iraq was 26.5 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 Iraq?
- The highest recorded value was 34.5 days in 2015.
- What is the lowest time required to start a business recorded in Iraq?
- The lowest recorded value was 26.5 days in 2017.
- How does Iraq rank for time required to start a business?
- Iraq ranks 37th out of 188 countries with data for 2019.
- Is time required to start a business rising or falling in Iraq?
- Over the last ten years it is down 13.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Iraq 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.