Time required to start a business in Zambia

Zambia: Time required to start a business was 8.5 days in 2019. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2019)
8.5 days
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
124th
of 188 countries
All-time high
36 days
in 2003
All-time low
8.5 days
in 2013
Years of data
17
2003–2019

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

102030402003201120192003: 36 days2004: 36 days2005: 36 days2006: 36 days2007: 34 days2008: 19 days2009: 19 days2010: 19 days2011: 19 days2012: 18.5 days2013: 8.5 days2014: 8.5 days2015: 8.5 days2016: 8.5 days2017: 8.5 days2018: 8.5 days2019: 8.5 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 Zambia is 8.5 days, measured in 2019. That is the lowest value across all 17 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 55.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, time required to start a business in Zambia peaked at 36 days in 2003 and was at its lowest, 8.5 days, in 2013.

That places Zambia 124th 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 30.86 days 19 days 36 days 7
2010s 11.6 days 8.5 days 19 days 10

Countries ranked near Zambia

  1. 122 Qatar 8.7 days compare
  2. 123 China 8.6 days compare
  3. 124 Afghanistan 8.5 days compare
  4. 124 Belarus 8.5 days compare
  5. 124 Benin 8.5 days compare
  6. 124 Guinea-Bissau 8.5 days compare

See the full ranking of 188 places →

More reference data data for Zambia

All data for Zambia →

Frequently asked questions

What is time required to start a business in Zambia?
Time required to start a business in Zambia was 8.5 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 Zambia?
The highest recorded value was 36 days in 2003.
What is the lowest time required to start a business recorded in Zambia?
The lowest recorded value was 8.5 days in 2013.
How does Zambia rank for time required to start a business?
Zambia ranks 124th out of 188 countries with data for 2019.
Is time required to start a business rising or falling in Zambia?
Over the last ten years it is down 55.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Zambia 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.