Time required to start a business in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka: Time required to start a business was 8 days in 2019. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2019)
8 days
Change on year
down 11.1%
World rank
131st
of 188 countries
All-time high
56 days
in 2003
All-time low
8 days
in 2019
Years of data
17
2003–2019

Time required to start a business in Sri Lanka, 2003–2019

1020304050602003201120192003: 56 days2004: 46 days2005: 46 days2006: 46 days2007: 42 days2008: 44 days2009: 44 days2010: 38 days2011: 35 days2012: 11 days2013: 11 days2014: 11 days2015: 10 days2016: 9 days2017: 9 days2018: 9 days2019: 8 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 Sri Lanka stood at 8 days. That is the lowest value across all 17 years on record.

The figure is down 11.1% on the previous year and down 81.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, time required to start a business in Sri Lanka peaked at 56 days in 2003 and was at its lowest, 8 days, in 2019.

Sri Lanka ranks 131st of 188 countries on this measure, 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 46.29 days 42 days 56 days 7
2010s 15.1 days 8 days 38 days 10

Countries ranked near Sri Lanka

  1. 129 Mexico 8.4 days compare
  2. 130 Bahrain 8.3 days compare
  3. 131 Gambia 8 days compare
  4. 131 Germany 8 days compare
  5. 131 Madagascar 8 days compare
  6. 131 Sierra Leone 8 days compare
  7. 131 Slovenia 8 days compare
  8. 131 South Korea 8 days compare

See the full ranking of 188 places →

More reference data data for Sri Lanka

All data for Sri Lanka →

Frequently asked questions

What is time required to start a business in Sri Lanka?
Time required to start a business in Sri Lanka was 8 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 Sri Lanka?
The highest recorded value was 56 days in 2003.
What is the lowest time required to start a business recorded in Sri Lanka?
The lowest recorded value was 8 days in 2019.
How does Sri Lanka rank for time required to start a business?
Sri Lanka ranks 131st out of 188 countries with data for 2019.
Is time required to start a business rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
Over the last ten years it is down 81.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Sri Lanka 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.