Share of female business owners in Pakistan
Pakistan: Share of female business owners was 12.8% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Share of female business owners in Pakistan, 2014–2022
Source: World Bank's Entrepreneurship Survey and database (https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/entrepreneurship). Downloaded on May 2, 2026. Measured in % of total business owners.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of female business owners in Pakistan is 12.8%, measured in 2022. That is the lowest value across all 9 years on record.
That represents a change of down 4.7% on the previous year and down 21.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of female business owners in Pakistan peaked at 16.3% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 12.8%, in 2022.
Pakistan ranks 66th of 72 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
Share of female business owners in Pakistan, year by year
| Year | % of total business owners | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 16.3% | — |
| 2015 | 15.6% | -4.4% |
| 2016 | 15.8% | +1.4% |
| 2017 | 15.7% | -0.6% |
| 2018 | 14.4% | -8.3% |
| 2019 | 13.8% | -4.2% |
| 2020 | 14.0% | +1.2% |
| 2021 | 13.4% | -4.1% |
| 2022 | 12.8% | -4.7% |
Pakistan compared with similar countries
- Pakistan's 12.8% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 21.7%, 59% of the median. (21 countries reporting)
- Pakistan's 12.8% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 15.0%, 86% of the median. (14 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 15.3% | 13.8% | 16.3% | 6 |
| 2020s | 13.4% | 12.8% | 14.0% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Pakistan
- 63 Algeria 14.8% compare
- 64 Iraq 13.5% compare
- 65 Palestine, State of 12.9% compare
- 67 Nepal 10.3% compare
- 68 United Arab Emirates 8.8% compare
- 69 Tajikistan 7.8% compare
More private sector data for Pakistan
- Merchandise trade 23.7% (2025)
- Food imports 14.1% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 46.1% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 65.85 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 24.4% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 67.9% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 30.55 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 119.68 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.075 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate -5.49 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of female business owners in Pakistan?
- Share of female business owners in Pakistan was 12.8% in 2022, according to World Bank's Entrepreneurship Survey and database (https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/entrepreneurship). Downloaded on May 2, 2026.
- What is the highest share of female business owners recorded in Pakistan?
- The highest recorded value was 16.3% in 2014.
- What is the lowest share of female business owners recorded in Pakistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.8% in 2022.
- How does Pakistan rank for share of female business owners?
- Pakistan ranks 66th out of 72 countries with data for 2022.
- Is share of female business owners rising or falling in Pakistan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 21.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Pakistan data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank's Entrepreneurship Survey and database (https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/entrepreneurship). Downloaded on May 2, 2026, published as part of Share of female business owners (% of total business owners). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 9 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
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.