Time required to start a business in United Arab Emirates

United Arab Emirates: Time required to start a business was 3.8 days in 2019. ▼ Falling

Latest (2019)
3.8 days
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
175th
of 188 countries
All-time high
19.3 days
in 2003
All-time low
3.8 days
in 2018
Years of data
17
2003–2019

Time required to start a business in United Arab Emirates, 2003–2019

51015202003201120192003: 19.3 days2004: 19.3 days2005: 19.3 days2006: 19.3 days2007: 18.3 days2008: 18.3 days2009: 15.3 days2010: 15.3 days2011: 13.3 days2012: 8.3 days2013: 8.3 days2014: 8.3 days2015: 8.3 days2016: 8.3 days2017: 8.3 days2018: 3.8 days2019: 3.8 days

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 United Arab Emirates is 3.8 days, measured in 2019. That is the lowest value across all 17 years on record.

The figure is down 75.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, time required to start a business in United Arab Emirates peaked at 19.3 days in 2003 and was at its lowest, 3.8 days, in 2018.

That places United Arab Emirates 175th 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.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 18.44 days 15.3 days 19.3 days 7
2010s 8.6 days 3.8 days 15.3 days 10

Countries ranked near United Arab Emirates

  1. 176 Azerbaijan 3.5 days compare
  2. 176 Denmark 3.5 days compare
  3. 176 Estonia 3.5 days compare
  4. 176 Netherlands 3.5 days compare

See the full ranking of 188 places →

More reference data data for United Arab Emirates

All data for United Arab Emirates →

Frequently asked questions

What is time required to start a business in United Arab Emirates?
Time required to start a business in United Arab Emirates was 3.8 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 United Arab Emirates?
The highest recorded value was 19.3 days in 2003.
What is the lowest time required to start a business recorded in United Arab Emirates?
The lowest recorded value was 3.8 days in 2018.
How does United Arab Emirates rank for time required to start a business?
United Arab Emirates ranks 175th out of 188 countries with data for 2019.
Is time required to start a business rising or falling in United Arab Emirates?
Over the last ten years it is down 75.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this United Arab Emirates 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.