Time required to start a business in Lesotho

Lesotho: Time required to start a business was 15 days in 2019. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2019)
15 days
Change on year
down 48.3%
World rank
75th
of 188 countries
All-time high
138 days
in 2003
All-time low
15 days
in 2019
Years of data
17
2003–2019

Time required to start a business in Lesotho, 2003–2019

2550751001251502003201120192003: 138 days2004: 138 days2005: 103 days2006: 73 days2007: 73 days2008: 39 days2009: 39 days2010: 39 days2011: 39 days2012: 29 days2013: 29 days2014: 29 days2015: 29 days2016: 29 days2017: 29 days2018: 29 days2019: 15 days

Source: Doing Business project, World Bank (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in days.

Analysis

The most recent figure for time required to start a business in Lesotho is 15 days, measured in 2019. That is the lowest value across all 17 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 48.3% on the previous year and down 61.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, time required to start a business in Lesotho peaked at 138 days in 2003 and was at its lowest, 15 days, in 2019.

That places Lesotho 75th out of 188 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the middle of the range.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 86.14 days 39 days 138 days 7
2010s 29.6 days 15 days 39 days 10

Countries ranked near Lesotho

  1. 74 Syria 15.5 days compare
  2. 75 Guatemala 15 days compare
  3. 75 Guinea 15 days compare
  4. 75 Lebanon 15 days compare
  5. 75 North Macedonia 15 days compare

See the full ranking of 188 places →

More reference data data for Lesotho

All data for Lesotho →

Frequently asked questions

What is time required to start a business in Lesotho?
Time required to start a business in Lesotho was 15 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 Lesotho?
The highest recorded value was 138 days in 2003.
What is the lowest time required to start a business recorded in Lesotho?
The lowest recorded value was 15 days in 2019.
How does Lesotho rank for time required to start a business?
Lesotho ranks 75th out of 188 countries with data for 2019.
Is time required to start a business rising or falling in Lesotho?
Over the last ten years it is down 61.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Lesotho 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.

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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.