Time required to start a business in Tonga

Tonga: Time required to start a business was 16 days in 2019. ▼ Falling

Latest (2019)
16 days
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
69th
of 188 countries
All-time high
32 days
in 2003
All-time low
16 days
in 2011
Years of data
17
2003–2019

Time required to start a business in Tonga, 2003–2019

01020302003201120192003: 32 days2004: 32 days2005: 32 days2006: 32 days2007: 32 days2008: 25 days2009: 25 days2010: 25 days2011: 16 days2012: 16 days2013: 16 days2014: 16 days2015: 16 days2016: 16 days2017: 16 days2018: 16 days2019: 16 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 Tonga stood at 16 days. That is the lowest value across all 17 years on record.

The figure is down 36.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, time required to start a business in Tonga peaked at 32 days in 2003 and was at its lowest, 16 days, in 2011.

Tonga ranks 69th of 188 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 17 years of available data.

Time required to start a business in Tonga, year by year

Annual values for Time required to start a business in Tonga, 2003 to 2019.
Year days Change
2003 32 days
2004 32 days +0.0%
2005 32 days +0.0%
2006 32 days +0.0%
2007 32 days +0.0%
2008 25 days -21.9%
2009 25 days +0.0%
2010 25 days +0.0%
2011 16 days -36.0%
2012 16 days +0.0%
2013 16 days +0.0%
2014 16 days +0.0%
2015 16 days +0.0%
2016 16 days +0.0%
2017 16 days +0.0%
2018 16 days +0.0%
2019 16 days +0.0%

Tonga compared with similar countries

  • Tonga's 16 days is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 12 days, 1.3× the median. (55 countries reporting)
  • Tonga's 16 days is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 12.8 days, 1.2× the median. (28 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 30 days 25 days 32 days 7
2010s 16.9 days 16 days 25 days 10

Countries ranked near Tonga

  1. 69 Barbados 16 days compare
  2. 69 Comoros 16 days compare
  3. 69 Micronesia (country) 16 days compare
  4. 69 Vietnam 16 days compare

See the full ranking of 188 places →

More reference data data for Tonga

All data for Tonga →

Frequently asked questions

What is time required to start a business in Tonga?
Time required to start a business in Tonga was 16 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 Tonga?
The highest recorded value was 32 days in 2003.
What is the lowest time required to start a business recorded in Tonga?
The lowest recorded value was 16 days in 2011.
How does Tonga rank for time required to start a business?
Tonga ranks 69th out of 188 countries with data for 2019.
Is time required to start a business rising or falling in Tonga?
Over the last ten years it is down 36.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Tonga 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.

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Time required to start a business in Tonga. Statizoid, drawing on Doing Business project, World Bank (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/time-required-to-start-business/tonga/

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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.