Time required to start a business in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico: Time required to start a business was 5.5 days in 2019. ▼ Falling
Time required to start a business in Puerto Rico, 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 Puerto Rico stood at 5.5 days. That is the lowest value across all 17 years on record.
That represents a change of down 21.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, time required to start a business in Puerto Rico peaked at 7 days in 2003 and was at its lowest, 5.5 days, in 2016.
That places Puerto Rico 156th out of 188 countries with data for 2019, putting it 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 Puerto Rico, year by year
| Year | days | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 7 days | — |
| 2004 | 7 days | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 7 days | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 7 days | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 7 days | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 7 days | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 7 days | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 7 days | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 6 days | -14.3% |
| 2012 | 6 days | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 6 days | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 6 days | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 6 days | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 5.5 days | -8.3% |
| 2017 | 5.5 days | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 5.5 days | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 5.5 days | +0.0% |
Puerto Rico compared with similar countries
- Puerto Rico's 5.5 days is below the median for high income countries, which is 8.5 days, 65% of the median. (62 countries reporting)
- Puerto Rico's 5.5 days is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 16 days, 34% of the median. (33 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 7 days | 7 days | 7 days | 7 |
| 2010s | 5.9 days | 5.5 days | 7 days | 10 |
Countries ranked near Puerto Rico
More reference data data for Puerto Rico
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.1709 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.2501 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0791 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - Enteric 974.66 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CH4) - Enteric Fermentation 34.81 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CH4) - Burning - Crop residues 0.0011 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - Manure Management 34.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.2653 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 1,009 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - Burning - Crop 0.0315 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is time required to start a business in Puerto Rico?
- Time required to start a business in Puerto Rico was 5.5 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 Puerto Rico?
- The highest recorded value was 7 days in 2003.
- What is the lowest time required to start a business recorded in Puerto Rico?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.5 days in 2016.
- How does Puerto Rico rank for time required to start a business?
- Puerto Rico ranks 156th out of 188 countries with data for 2019.
- Is time required to start a business rising or falling in Puerto Rico?
- Over the last ten years it is down 21.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Puerto Rico 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.