Share of female business owners (% of total business owners) by country
Share of female business is the proportion of female newly registered limited liability company owners out of the total number of newly registered limited liability company owners in the economy in the calendar year.
What the numbers show
Share of female business owners (% of total business owners) is currently reported for 72 countries. The highest value is 48.2% in Thailand; the lowest is 2.0% in Afghanistan.
The median across all reporting countries is 25.1%, and the mean is 25.1%.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 24.
Over the past decade 37 countries rose and 23 fell. The largest increase was in Namibia (up 161.8%), and the largest decrease in Bahrain (down 77.5%).
Share of female business owners: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thailand | 48.2% | 2024 | up 13.8% | rising |
| 2 | Belize | 46.1% | 2024 | up 40.3% | rising |
| 3 | Samoa | 44.0% | 2020 | up 22.0% | flat |
| 4 | Mozambique | 43.1% | 2020 | down 10.7% | falling |
| 5 | Mongolia | 41.8% | 2024 | up 35.3% | rising |
| 6 | Marshall Islands | 40.0% | 2022 | up 22.7% | flat |
| 7 | Timor-Leste | 38.5% | 2022 | — | rising |
| 8 | Chile | 37.5% | 2023 | up 7.6% | rising |
| 9 | Namibia | 36.9% | 2024 | up 161.8% | rising |
| 10 | Eswatini | 36.7% | 2024 | — | rising |
| 11 | Viet Nam | 36.6% | 2024 | up 0.5% | falling |
| 12 | Romania | 36.3% | 2024 | down 1.2% | falling |
| 13 | Uruguay | 35.4% | 2024 | — | rising |
| 14 | Jamaica | 34.4% | 2022 | up 4.0% | rising |
| 15 | Latvia | 34.1% | 2018 | — | flat |
| 16 | Rwanda | 33.9% | 2024 | up 18.6% | rising |
| 17 | Nigeria | 33.7% | 2020 | up 3.5% | flat |
| 18 | Bhutan | 33.3% | 2018 | — | rising |
| 19 | Estonia | 31.8% | 2024 | up 3.3% | rising |
| 20 | Zambia | 31.0% | 2024 | up 45.9% | rising |
| 21 | Malaysia | 31.0% | 2024 | up 0.7% | flat |
| 22 | Tuvalu | 30.8% | 2022 | up 29.2% | rising |
| 23 | Ecuador | 30.4% | 2024 | up 109.1% | rising |
| 24 | Cambodia | 29.8% | 2024 | — | flat |
| 25 | Mauritius | 29.7% | 2024 | up 10.8% | falling |
| 26 | Italy | 28.3% | 2024 | down 7.5% | falling |
| 27 | North Macedonia | 28.1% | 2020 | down 13.0% | falling |
| 28 | Comoros | 27.3% | 2022 | up 109.3% | rising |
| 29 | Slovakia | 27.2% | 2024 | up 2.2% | flat |
| 30 | Côte d'Ivoire | 27.1% | 2024 | up 42.8% | rising |
| 31 | Slovenia | 26.9% | 2018 | — | falling |
| 32 | Korea | 26.9% | 2023 | up 15.5% | rising |
| 33 | Greece | 26.5% | 2024 | up 0.2% | falling |
| 34 | Norway | 25.5% | 2024 | up 11.4% | rising |
| 35 | Belarus | 25.3% | 2020 | down 0.5% | falling |
| 36 | Montenegro | 25.2% | 2024 | down 44.5% | falling |
| 37 | Georgia | 25.0% | 2024 | down 4.1% | falling |
| 38 | Brunei Darussalam | 24.9% | 2020 | up 113.9% | rising |
| 39 | Liberia | 24.7% | 2024 | up 37.3% | rising |
| 40 | Albania | 23.9% | 2024 | up 32.5% | rising |
| 41 | Serbia | 23.9% | 2024 | down 17.4% | falling |
| 42 | Lao People's Democratic Republic | 23.7% | 2020 | up 0.4% | flat |
| 43 | Burundi | 23.4% | 2021 | down 18.3% | flat |
| 44 | Fiji | 22.9% | 2024 | down 26.6% | falling |
| 45 | Togo | 21.7% | 2024 | up 48.2% | rising |
| 46 | Benin | 21.7% | 2022 | up 19.7% | rising |
| 47 | Denmark | 21.5% | 2024 | up 16.6% | rising |
| 48 | Saudi Arabia | 20.2% | 2023 | down 0.4% | flat |
| 49 | Azerbaijan | 20.0% | 2024 | up 80.1% | rising |
| 50 | Uzbekistan | 19.2% | 2022 | up 6.2% | flat |
| 51 | Qatar | 18.8% | 2024 | — | flat |
| 52 | Netherlands | 17.9% | 2020 | — | rising |
| 53 | Türkiye | 17.5% | 2024 | up 13.7% | rising |
| 54 | Malta | 17.3% | 2024 | down 3.0% | rising |
| 55 | Morocco | 17.2% | 2024 | up 7.5% | flat |
| 56 | Jordan | 16.3% | 2024 | down 7.9% | flat |
| 57 | Central African Republic | 16.1% | 2020 | down 0.1% | rising |
| 58 | Germany | 15.5% | 2024 | up 3.0% | flat |
| 59 | Egypt | 15.4% | 2020 | down 33.2% | falling |
| 60 | Oman | 15.2% | 2020 | down 12.3% | falling |
| 61 | Congo | 15.1% | 2024 | down 21.3% | flat |
| 62 | Guinea-Bissau | 15.0% | 2024 | up 107.2% | rising |
| 63 | Algeria | 14.8% | 2024 | up 0.9% | flat |
| 64 | Iraq | 13.5% | 2022 | down 4.1% | falling |
| 65 | Palestine, State of | 12.9% | 2024 | down 26.2% | falling |
| 66 | Pakistan | 12.8% | 2022 | down 21.6% | falling |
| 67 | Nepal | 10.3% | 2020 | down 33.6% | falling |
| 68 | United Arab Emirates | 8.8% | 2018 | — | falling |
| 69 | Tajikistan | 7.8% | 2018 | — | rising |
| 70 | Bahrain | 5.1% | 2024 | down 77.5% | falling |
| 71 | Bangladesh | 3.9% | 2024 | down 60.6% | falling |
| 72 | Afghanistan | 2.0% | 2018 | — | rising |
About this data
Share of female business is the proportion of female newly registered limited liability company owners out of the total number of newly registered limited liability company owners in the economy in the calendar year.