Time required to start a business in Laos
Laos: Time required to start a business was 173 days in 2019. ▲ Rising
Time required to start a business in Laos, 2003–2019
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 Laos stood at 173 days.
That represents a change of down 0.6% on the previous year and up 101.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, time required to start a business in Laos peaked at 187 days in 2015 and was at its lowest, 78 days, in 2011.
Laos ranks 2nd of 188 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 17 years of available data.
Time required to start a business in Laos, year by year
| Year | days | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 135 days | — |
| 2004 | 135 days | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 135 days | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 116 days | -14.1% |
| 2007 | 86 days | -25.9% |
| 2008 | 86 days | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 86 days | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 86 days | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 78 days | -9.3% |
| 2012 | 88 days | +12.8% |
| 2013 | 88 days | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 88 days | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 187 days | +112.5% |
| 2016 | 174 days | -7.0% |
| 2017 | 174 days | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 174 days | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 173 days | -0.6% |
Laos compared with similar countries
- Laos's 173 days is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 15 days, 11.5× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Laos's 173 days is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 12.8 days, 13.5× the median. (28 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 111.29 days | 86 days | 135 days | 7 |
| 2010s | 131 days | 78 days | 187 days | 10 |
Countries ranked near Laos
More reference data data for Laos
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.6615 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.913 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.88 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.3021 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 1.88 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.22 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 3.96 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 5.07 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 12.95 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.64 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is time required to start a business in Laos?
- Time required to start a business in Laos was 173 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 Laos?
- The highest recorded value was 187 days in 2015.
- What is the lowest time required to start a business recorded in Laos?
- The lowest recorded value was 78 days in 2011.
- How does Laos rank for time required to start a business?
- Laos ranks 2nd out of 188 countries with data for 2019.
- Is time required to start a business rising or falling in Laos?
- Over the last ten years it is up 101.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Laos 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.