There is no single entrepreneurship rate by country. New business density counts new limited-liability companies per 1,000 people ages 15-64. New registrations are that count with no population adjustment. GEM TEA is the share of people ages 18-64 who are starting or running a new business in a survey, and it is not limited to registered companies. Leads differ by measure. On 2024 density the highest published value is Cayman Islands at 201.01. On 2024 registrations it is Brazil, with 979,211 new companies.
This is the page for entrepreneurship rate by country, entrepreneurship statistics by country, and the question of which country produces the most entrepreneurs. Those phrases do not share one answer. GEM country rates are not published here. The definition and the full 2024 density table are on new business density. Comparisons are in the 2024 findings.
Downloads, the field dictionary, the version, and a suggested citation are on the data library.
| Measure | Question it answers | Unit | Who leads in this extract |
|---|---|---|---|
| New business density (IC.BUS.NDNS.ZS) | How many new limited-liability firms per 1,000 people ages 15-64? | Firms per 1,000 people ages 15-64, calendar year | 2024: Cayman Islands, 201.01. Outside the Eurostat offshore list: Estonia, 26.76. |
| New registrations (IC.BUS.NREG) | How many new limited-liability firms were registered? | Companies in the calendar year | 2024: Brazil, 979,211. |
| GEM TEA | What share of adults are starting or running a new business, registered or not? | Percentage of the population ages 18-64 | Not published on entrpr. Definition: GEM. |
The World Bank source note defines new business density as the number of newly registered firms with limited liability per 1,000 working-age people (ages 15-64) per calendar year. In the 2024 table, Cayman Islands is highest at 201.01. This economy is on the Eurostat offshore financial center list. The highest 2024 value outside that offshore list is Estonia at 26.76. The full table, with the year on every row, is the 2024 ranking.
The latest-year density list uses each economy's most recent value. In this extract the top 20 of that list are all 2024 observations, so those 20 places match the uniform-year list. Further down they do not: 49 economies are on the latest-year list with an earlier year. The year is printed on that page.
IC.BUS.NREG is the numerator concept of the density series: new limited-liability corporations, or the equivalent, registered in the calendar year. It is not divided by population. In 2024, Brazil has the highest count, 979,211, with density 6.67. India has 173,712 registrations and density 0.18. The United Kingdom has 841,138 registrations and density 19.19. The count list by latest year is a different sort, and it shows each year's value as the latest observation. The uniform 2024 count table is in the 2024 findings.
GEM defines Total early-stage Entrepreneurial Activity as the percentage of the 18-64 population who are either a nascent entrepreneur or owner-manager of a new business. GEM's own scope note says its definition is not restricted to newly registered businesses. TEA can therefore include people who have not registered a limited-liability company, and the density series can include companies whose owners would not be counted as early-stage in a survey. entrpr does not publish GEM country rates. Use the GEM definitions and the GEM reports for those figures.