Time required to start a business in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia: Time required to start a business was 10.4 days in 2019. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2019)
10.4 days
Change on year
down 41.2%
World rank
109th
of 188 countries
All-time high
81.3 days
in 2003
All-time low
10.4 days
in 2019
Years of data
17
2003–2019

Time required to start a business in Saudi Arabia, 2003–2019

204060802003201120192003: 81.3 days2004: 81.3 days2005: 74.3 days2006: 49.3 days2007: 27.2 days2008: 27.2 days2009: 27.2 days2010: 27.2 days2011: 27.2 days2012: 24.2 days2013: 24.7 days2014: 24.7 days2015: 23.2 days2016: 19.2 days2017: 17.7 days2018: 17.7 days2019: 10.4 days

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 Saudi Arabia stood at 10.4 days. That is the lowest value across all 17 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 41.2% on the previous year and down 61.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, time required to start a business in Saudi Arabia peaked at 81.3 days in 2003 and was at its lowest, 10.4 days, in 2019.

That places Saudi Arabia 109th 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 52.54 days 27.2 days 81.3 days 7
2010s 21.62 days 10.4 days 27.2 days 10

Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia

  1. 108 Trinidad and Tobago 10.5 days compare
  2. 110 Russia 10.1 days compare
  3. 111 Colombia 10 days compare
  4. 111 Gabon 10 days compare
  5. 111 Kyrgyzstan 10 days compare
  6. 111 Niger 10 days compare
  7. 111 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 10 days compare
  8. 111 Switzerland 10 days compare

See the full ranking of 188 places →

More reference data data for Saudi Arabia

All data for Saudi Arabia →

Frequently asked questions

What is time required to start a business in Saudi Arabia?
Time required to start a business in Saudi Arabia was 10.4 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 Saudi Arabia?
The highest recorded value was 81.3 days in 2003.
What is the lowest time required to start a business recorded in Saudi Arabia?
The lowest recorded value was 10.4 days in 2019.
How does Saudi Arabia rank for time required to start a business?
Saudi Arabia ranks 109th out of 188 countries with data for 2019.
Is time required to start a business rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
Over the last ten years it is down 61.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Saudi Arabia 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

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.