Time required to start a business in South Africa
South Africa: Time required to start a business was 40 days in 2019. ▼ Falling
Time required to start a business in South Africa, 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 South Africa is 40 days, measured in 2019. That is the lowest value across all 17 years on record.
That represents a change of down 11.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, time required to start a business in South Africa peaked at 56 days in 2003 and was at its lowest, 40 days, in 2018.
South Africa ranks 20th of 188 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 17 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 51.57 days | 45 days | 56 days | 7 |
| 2010s | 44.2 days | 40 days | 46 days | 10 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More reference data data for South Africa
- Spring temperature anomalies 0.191 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 1.36 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 0.6318 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 1.18 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 0.2153 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 209.92 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is time required to start a business in South Africa?
- Time required to start a business in South Africa was 40 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 South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 56 days in 2003.
- What is the lowest time required to start a business recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 40 days in 2018.
- How does South Africa rank for time required to start a business?
- South Africa ranks 20th out of 188 countries with data for 2019.
- Is time required to start a business rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 11.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa 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.