Share of female business owners in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Share of female business owners was 20.2% in 2023. ▬ Flat
Share of female business owners in Saudi Arabia, 2015–2023
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
In 2023, share of female business owners in Saudi Arabia stood at 20.2%.
That represents a change of up 1.7% on the previous year and down 0.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of female business owners in Saudi Arabia peaked at 20.4% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 18.2%, in 2020.
Saudi Arabia ranks 48th of 72 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
Share of female business owners in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | % of total business owners | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 20.3% | — |
| 2016 | 18.7% | -7.7% |
| 2017 | 19.0% | +1.3% |
| 2018 | 18.6% | -2.0% |
| 2019 | 18.7% | +0.7% |
| 2020 | 18.2% | -2.6% |
| 2021 | 20.4% | +12.0% |
| 2022 | 19.9% | -2.7% |
| 2023 | 20.2% | +1.7% |
Saudi Arabia compared with similar countries
- Saudi Arabia's 20.2% is below the median for high income countries, which is 25.5%, 79% of the median. (21 countries reporting)
- Saudi Arabia's 20.2% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 15.0%, 1.4× the median. (14 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 19.1% | 18.6% | 20.3% | 5 |
| 2020s | 19.7% | 18.2% | 20.4% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
More private sector data for Saudi Arabia
- Merchandise trade 44.2% (2025)
- Food imports 13.0% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 70.5% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 254.06 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 1.9% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 15.9% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 310.67 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 8,403 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.2433 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 1.69 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of female business owners in Saudi Arabia?
- Share of female business owners in Saudi Arabia was 20.2% in 2023, 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 Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 20.4% in 2021.
- What is the lowest share of female business owners recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 18.2% in 2020.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for share of female business owners?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 48th out of 72 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of female business owners rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia 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.
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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.