Time required to start a business in Malawi

Malawi: Time required to start a business was 37 days in 2019. ▬ Flat

Latest (2019)
37 days
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
23rd
of 188 countries
All-time high
43 days
in 2003
All-time low
36 days
in 2009
Years of data
17
2003–2019

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

0102030402003201120192003: 43 days2004: 37 days2005: 37 days2006: 37 days2007: 37 days2008: 37 days2009: 36 days2010: 36 days2011: 36 days2012: 37 days2013: 40 days2014: 38 days2015: 38 days2016: 37 days2017: 37 days2018: 37 days2019: 37 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 Malawi is 37 days, measured in 2019.

That represents a change of up 2.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, time required to start a business in Malawi peaked at 43 days in 2003 and was at its lowest, 36 days, in 2009.

Malawi ranks 23rd of 188 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 37.71 days 36 days 43 days 7
2010s 37.3 days 36 days 40 days 10

Countries ranked near Malawi

  1. 20 Fiji 40 days compare
  2. 20 South Africa 40 days compare
  3. 22 Bolivia 39.5 days compare
  4. 23 Poland 37 days compare
  5. 25 Angola 36 days compare
  6. 26 Libya 35 days compare
  7. 26 Paraguay 35 days compare

See the full ranking of 188 places →

More reference data data for Malawi

All data for Malawi →

Frequently asked questions

What is time required to start a business in Malawi?
Time required to start a business in Malawi was 37 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 Malawi?
The highest recorded value was 43 days in 2003.
What is the lowest time required to start a business recorded in Malawi?
The lowest recorded value was 36 days in 2009.
How does Malawi rank for time required to start a business?
Malawi ranks 23rd out of 188 countries with data for 2019.
Is time required to start a business rising or falling in Malawi?
Over the last ten years it is up 2.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this Malawi 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

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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.