Time required to start a business in Panama
Panama: Time required to start a business was 6 days in 2019. ▼ Falling
Time required to start a business in Panama, 2003–2019
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 Panama is 6 days, measured in 2019. That is the lowest value across all 17 years on record.
The figure is down 50.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, time required to start a business in Panama peaked at 18 days in 2003 and was at its lowest, 6 days, in 2013.
Panama ranks 150th of 188 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 17 years of available data.
Time required to start a business in Panama, year by year
| Year | days | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 18 days | — |
| 2004 | 18 days | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 18 days | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 18 days | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 18 days | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 12 days | -33.3% |
| 2009 | 12 days | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 9 days | -25.0% |
| 2011 | 8 days | -11.1% |
| 2012 | 7 days | -12.5% |
| 2013 | 6 days | -14.3% |
| 2014 | 6 days | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 6 days | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 6 days | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 6 days | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 6 days | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 6 days | +0.0% |
Panama compared with similar countries
- Panama's 6 days is below the median for high income countries, which is 8.5 days, 71% of the median. (62 countries reporting)
- Panama's 6 days is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 16 days, 38% of the median. (33 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 16.29 days | 12 days | 18 days | 7 |
| 2010s | 6.6 days | 6 days | 9 days | 10 |
Countries ranked near Panama
More reference data data for Panama
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.1446 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.6179 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.9793 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0285 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.9793 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.4849 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.2267 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 3.44 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 5.08 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1553 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is time required to start a business in Panama?
- Time required to start a business in Panama was 6 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 Panama?
- The highest recorded value was 18 days in 2003.
- What is the lowest time required to start a business recorded in Panama?
- The lowest recorded value was 6 days in 2013.
- How does Panama rank for time required to start a business?
- Panama ranks 150th out of 188 countries with data for 2019.
- Is time required to start a business rising or falling in Panama?
- Over the last ten years it is down 50.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Panama 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.