Minimum capital for starting a business (% of income per capita) by country
The paid-in minimum capital requirement reflects the amount that the entrepreneur needs to deposit in a bank or with a notary before registration and up to 3 months following incorporation and is recorded as a percentage of the country’s income per capita. The amount is typically specified in the commercial code...
What the numbers show
Minimum capital for starting a business (% of income per capita) is currently reported for 33 countries. The highest value is 572.8% in Niger; the lowest is 0.0% in Zambia.
The median across all reporting countries is 184.6%, and the mean is 174.1%.
Over the past decade 1 countries rose and 31 fell. The largest increase was in Comoros (up 1.1%), and the largest decrease in Mozambique (down 100.0%).
Minimum capital for starting a business: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Niger | 572.8% | 2012 | down 24.6% | falling |
| 2 | Central African Republic | 444.1% | 2012 | down 15.8% | falling |
| 3 | Djibouti | 383.6% | 2012 | down 36.6% | falling |
| 4 | Togo | 365.6% | 2012 | down 27.5% | falling |
| 5 | Burkina Faso | 353.9% | 2012 | down 33.4% | falling |
| 6 | Guinea-Bissau | 338.0% | 2012 | down 69.3% | falling |
| 7 | Mali | 331.9% | 2012 | down 36.9% | falling |
| 8 | Mauritania | 327.9% | 2012 | down 61.8% | falling |
| 9 | Guinea | 324.7% | 2012 | down 99.2% | volatile |
| 10 | Chad | 289.4% | 2012 | down 50.5% | falling |
| 11 | Sao Tome and Principe | 285.8% | 2012 | — | volatile |
| 12 | Benin | 264.5% | 2012 | down 24.9% | falling |
| 13 | Comoros | 261.9% | 2012 | up 1.1% | falling |
| 14 | Ethiopia | 249.1% | 2012 | down 87.3% | volatile |
| 15 | Eritrea | 203.1% | 2012 | down 72.9% | falling |
| 16 | Senegal | 192.3% | 2012 | down 34.4% | falling |
| 17 | Côte d'Ivoire | 184.6% | 2012 | down 13.1% | falling |
| 18 | Cameroon | 168.3% | 2012 | down 31.4% | falling |
| 19 | Congo | 80.5% | 2012 | down 66.3% | falling |
| 20 | Cape Verde | 34.2% | 2012 | down 41.6% | falling |
| 21 | Algeria | 27.2% | 2012 | down 62.8% | falling |
| 22 | Angola | 24.6% | 2012 | down 97.4% | volatile |
| 23 | Gabon | 22.3% | 2012 | down 46.3% | falling |
| 24 | Equatorial Guinea | 11.7% | 2012 | down 95.6% | volatile |
| 25 | Ghana | 4.3% | 2012 | down 89.7% | volatile |
| 26 | Eswatini | 0.4% | 2012 | down 42.9% | falling |
| 27 | Mozambique | 0.0% | 2012 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 27 | Madagascar | 0.0% | 2012 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 27 | Morocco | 0.0% | 2012 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 27 | Lesotho | 0.0% | 2012 | down 100.0% | falling |
| 27 | Tunisia | 0.0% | 2012 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 27 | Egypt | 0.0% | 2012 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 27 | Zambia | 0.0% | 2012 | down 100.0% | volatile |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- Sub-Saharan Africa excluding South Africa and Nigeria 121.3%
- Sub-Saharan Africa excluding South Africa 118.6%
- Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) 118.3%
- Sub-Saharan Africa 116.0%
- Africa 112.7%
- North Africa 82.2%
About this data
The paid-in minimum capital requirement reflects the amount that the entrepreneur needs to deposit in a bank or with a notary before registration and up to 3 months following incorporation and is recorded as a percentage of the country’s income per capita. The amount is typically specified in the commercial code or the company law. Many countries have a minimum capital requirement but allow businesses to pay only a part of it before registration, with the rest to be paid after the first year of operation. For more information, visit http://www.doingbusiness.org/MethodologySurveys/.