Time required to start a business in South Korea
South Korea: Time required to start a business was 8 days in 2019. ▼ Falling
Time required to start a business in South Korea, 2003–2019
Source: Doing Business project, World Bank (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in days.
Analysis
South Korea recorded 8 days for time required to start a business in 2019. That is the lowest value across all 17 years on record.
The figure is down 42.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, time required to start a business in South Korea peaked at 17 days in 2003 and was at its lowest, 8 days, in 2012.
That places South Korea 131st 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
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 16.57 days | 14 days | 17 days | 7 |
| 2010s | 8.7 days | 8 days | 14 days | 10 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More reference data data for South Korea
- Spring temperature anomalies 1.1 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.7164 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month -0.8996 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 2.24 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 0.9115 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 135 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is time required to start a business in South Korea?
- Time required to start a business in South Korea 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 South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 17 days in 2003.
- What is the lowest time required to start a business recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 8 days in 2012.
- How does South Korea rank for time required to start a business?
- South Korea ranks 131st out of 188 countries with data for 2019.
- Is time required to start a business rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 42.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Korea 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
Number of calendar days needed to complete the procedures to legally operate a business.