Number of female business owners by country
Number of female business owners is the number of female individuals that own at least one share of a limited liability company that was newly registered in the calendar year.
What the numbers show
Number of female business owners is currently reported for 72 countries. The highest value is 179,513 in Nigeria; the lowest is 2 in Marshall Islands.
The median across all reporting countries is 2,368, and the mean is 11,053.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 89,756.
Over the past decade 46 countries rose and 14 fell. The largest increase was in Belize (up 1,292.7%), and the largest decrease in Marshall Islands (down 86.7%).
Number of female business owners: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nigeria | 179,513 | 2020 | up 24.4% | rising |
| 2 | Thailand | 89,087 | 2024 | up 15.9% | rising |
| 3 | Chile | 65,161 | 2023 | up 76.2% | rising |
| 4 | Italy | 51,379 | 2024 | down 3.9% | falling |
| 5 | Romania | 40,230 | 2024 | up 38.2% | rising |
| 6 | Vietnam | 39,757 | 2024 | up 63.0% | rising |
| 7 | South Korea | 34,479 | 2023 | up 74.8% | rising |
| 8 | Malaysia | 31,050 | 2024 | down 3.1% | flat |
| 9 | Turkey | 26,650 | 2024 | up 118.1% | rising |
| 10 | United Arab Emirates | 16,921 | 2018 | — | rising |
| 11 | Morocco | 16,578 | 2024 | up 97.1% | rising |
| 12 | Germany | 15,913 | 2024 | up 19.0% | rising |
| 13 | Uzbekistan | 13,961 | 2022 | up 442.6% | volatile |
| 14 | Zambia | 13,522 | 2024 | up 180.0% | rising |
| 15 | Rwanda | 12,141 | 2024 | up 143.2% | rising |
| 16 | Ecuador | 10,542 | 2024 | up 130.5% | rising |
| 17 | Mongolia | 9,749 | 2024 | up 84.7% | rising |
| 18 | Saudi Arabia | 8,414 | 2023 | up 91.8% | rising |
| 19 | Cote d'Ivoire | 8,264 | 2024 | up 441.9% | volatile |
| 20 | Estonia | 7,812 | 2024 | up 20.4% | rising |
| 21 | Pakistan | 6,593 | 2022 | up 227.5% | rising |
| 22 | Slovakia | 6,447 | 2024 | down 20.0% | falling |
| 23 | Norway | 6,413 | 2024 | up 6.9% | flat |
| 24 | Georgia | 5,864 | 2024 | up 3.5% | flat |
| 25 | Namibia | 5,863 | 2024 | up 78.0% | rising |
| 26 | Egypt | 5,739 | 2020 | up 192.8% | rising |
| 27 | Denmark | 5,699 | 2024 | up 60.5% | rising |
| 28 | Greece | 5,579 | 2024 | up 381.4% | rising |
| 29 | Netherlands | 5,011 | 2020 | — | rising |
| 30 | Algeria | 3,565 | 2024 | up 94.6% | rising |
| 31 | Nepal | 3,222 | 2020 | up 56.3% | rising |
| 32 | Latvia | 3,197 | 2018 | — | flat |
| 33 | Mauritius | 2,936 | 2024 | up 208.4% | rising |
| 34 | Azerbaijan | 2,787 | 2024 | up 185.8% | rising |
| 35 | Belarus | 2,577 | 2020 | down 32.3% | falling |
| 36 | Eswatini | 2,418 | 2024 | — | flat |
| 37 | Jamaica | 2,317 | 2022 | up 166.0% | rising |
| 38 | Serbia | 2,174 | 2024 | down 13.5% | rising |
| 39 | Burundi | 1,999 | 2021 | down 30.0% | rising |
| 40 | Montenegro | 1,993 | 2024 | up 40.7% | volatile |
| 41 | Belize | 1,908 | 2024 | up 1,292.7% | volatile |
| 42 | Mozambique | 1,721 | 2020 | up 37.5% | rising |
| 43 | Iraq | 1,676 | 2022 | up 26.0% | rising |
| 44 | Cambodia | 1,636 | 2024 | — | rising |
| 45 | Oman | 1,623 | 2020 | up 25.0% | falling |
| 46 | Jordan | 1,429 | 2024 | down 0.8% | rising |
| 47 | Uruguay | 1,417 | 2024 | — | falling |
| 48 | North Macedonia | 1,399 | 2020 | down 16.8% | falling |
| 49 | Benin | 1,206 | 2022 | up 340.1% | rising |
| 50 | Togo | 1,182 | 2024 | up 672.5% | volatile |
| 51 | Albania | 988 | 2024 | up 146.4% | rising |
| 52 | Bangladesh | 975 | 2024 | down 65.8% | falling |
| 53 | Slovenia | 950 | 2018 | — | falling |
| 54 | Malta | 847 | 2024 | up 13.7% | rising |
| 55 | Bahrain | 665 | 2024 | down 54.9% | falling |
| 56 | East Timor | 658 | 2022 | — | flat |
| 57 | Palestine | 382 | 2024 | down 31.2% | falling |
| 58 | Fiji | 347 | 2024 | up 285.6% | volatile |
| 59 | Congo | 217 | 2024 | up 228.8% | volatile |
| 60 | Qatar | 185 | 2024 | — | volatile |
| 61 | Afghanistan | 177 | 2018 | — | volatile |
| 62 | Laos | 166 | 2020 | up 245.8% | volatile |
| 63 | Tajikistan | 97 | 2018 | — | rising |
| 64 | Guinea-Bissau | 83 | 2024 | up 196.4% | volatile |
| 65 | Comoros | 74 | 2022 | up 516.7% | volatile |
| 66 | Samoa | 70 | 2020 | down 42.6% | falling |
| 67 | Central African Republic | 55 | 2020 | up 292.9% | volatile |
| 68 | Liberia | 53 | 2024 | up 657.1% | volatile |
| 69 | Brunei | 42 | 2020 | up 27.3% | rising |
| 70 | Bhutan | 37 | 2018 | — | rising |
| 71 | Tuvalu | 4 | 2022 | down 20.0% | volatile |
| 72 | Marshall Islands | 2 | 2022 | down 86.7% | volatile |
About this data
Number of female business owners is the number of female individuals that own at least one share of a limited liability company that was newly registered in the calendar year.