Share of female sole proprietors (% of sole proprietors) by country
Share of female sole proprietors is the proportion of female newly registered sole proprietors out of the total number of newly registered sole proprietors in the economy in the calendar year. A sole proprietorship is a business entity owned and managed by a single individual who is indistinguishable from the...
What the numbers show
Share of female sole proprietors (% of sole proprietors) is currently reported for 78 countries. The highest value is 72.7% in Marshall Islands; the lowest is 2.8% in Afghanistan.
The median across all reporting countries is 37.7%, and the mean is 36.6%.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 26.
Over the past decade 42 countries rose and 23 fell. The largest increase was in Ethiopia (up 426.8%), and the largest decrease in Jordan (down 67.4%).
Share of female sole proprietors: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marshall Islands | 72.7% | 2021 | — | rising |
| 2 | Philippines | 61.1% | 2024 | up 17.1% | rising |
| 3 | Jamaica | 57.7% | 2024 | up 17.2% | rising |
| 4 | Thailand | 56.6% | 2024 | up 9.6% | rising |
| 5 | Kazakhstan | 56.5% | 2024 | up 20.6% | rising |
| 6 | Rwanda | 55.2% | 2024 | up 60.4% | rising |
| 7 | Colombia | 52.1% | 2024 | — | flat |
| 8 | Uruguay | 50.4% | 2024 | up 1.7% | flat |
| 9 | Bahrain | 50.3% | 2024 | up 7.3% | rising |
| 10 | Austria | 50.0% | 2023 | down 3.6% | flat |
| 11 | Mongolia | 47.8% | 2022 | up 34.8% | rising |
| 12 | Lithuania | 47.4% | 2024 | up 14.9% | rising |
| 13 | Republic of Korea | 46.9% | 2023 | down 1.0% | flat |
| 14 | Kyrgyzstan | 46.8% | 2022 | up 8.1% | rising |
| 15 | Congo, Democratic Republic of the | 46.7% | 2024 | up 66.5% | rising |
| 16 | Belize | 46.3% | 2024 | up 46.6% | rising |
| 17 | Mauritius | 45.7% | 2024 | up 11.6% | rising |
| 18 | Chile | 44.5% | 2023 | up 4.3% | flat |
| 19 | Russian Federation | 44.1% | 2024 | down 2.1% | flat |
| 20 | Ethiopia | 43.0% | 2024 | up 426.8% | rising |
| 21 | Guatemala | 42.7% | 2024 | up 6.3% | rising |
| 22 | Malaysia | 42.7% | 2024 | up 3.8% | flat |
| 23 | Belgium | 42.1% | 2023 | up 4.3% | rising |
| 24 | Romania | 41.3% | 2024 | down 8.6% | flat |
| 25 | Uzbekistan | 41.1% | 2022 | up 18.3% | rising |
| 26 | Malta | 41.0% | 2024 | up 19.5% | rising |
| 27 | Benin | 39.9% | 2024 | up 50.1% | rising |
| 28 | Iceland | 39.9% | 2023 | down 1.3% | flat |
| 29 | Netherlands | 39.6% | 2020 | — | falling |
| 30 | Montenegro | 39.6% | 2024 | down 34.1% | falling |
| 31 | Liberia | 38.9% | 2024 | up 13.5% | rising |
| 32 | Tuvalu | 38.8% | 2022 | down 15.6% | rising |
| 33 | Tajikistan | 38.6% | 2018 | — | falling |
| 34 | Sweden | 38.3% | 2024 | down 3.0% | flat |
| 35 | Germany | 38.3% | 2024 | up 9.2% | rising |
| 36 | Slovenia | 38.1% | 2018 | — | rising |
| 37 | Norway | 37.9% | 2024 | up 15.6% | rising |
| 38 | Denmark | 37.9% | 2024 | up 6.6% | flat |
| 39 | Poland | 37.8% | 2024 | down 5.3% | flat |
| 40 | Serbia | 37.6% | 2024 | down 5.5% | flat |
| 41 | Tonga | 36.6% | 2024 | down 16.3% | falling |
| 42 | Viet Nam | 36.4% | 2024 | up 1.5% | flat |
| 43 | Belarus | 36.2% | 2020 | up 13.6% | rising |
| 44 | Estonia | 35.9% | 2024 | down 29.8% | falling |
| 45 | Latvia | 35.5% | 2018 | — | falling |
| 46 | North Macedonia | 35.0% | 2018 | — | rising |
| 47 | Albania | 35.0% | 2020 | up 4.8% | flat |
| 48 | Togo | 34.9% | 2024 | up 56.1% | rising |
| 49 | Nigeria | 34.7% | 2020 | up 2.3% | flat |
| 50 | Mexico | 34.4% | 2020 | down 19.0% | falling |
| 51 | Saudi Arabia | 34.1% | 2024 | up 161.5% | rising |
| 52 | Croatia | 33.8% | 2018 | — | flat |
| 53 | France | 33.3% | 2024 | down 8.3% | falling |
| 54 | Zambia | 32.8% | 2024 | up 8.1% | rising |
| 55 | Italy | 32.1% | 2024 | up 0.2% | flat |
| 56 | Senegal | 31.7% | 2024 | up 43.4% | rising |
| 57 | Gabon | 31.7% | 2024 | up 3.3% | flat |
| 58 | Georgia | 31.5% | 2024 | down 21.3% | falling |
| 59 | Lao People's Democratic Republic | 31.3% | 2024 | down 23.7% | falling |
| 60 | Guinea | 30.4% | 2024 | up 34.1% | rising |
| 61 | El Salvador | 30.0% | 2024 | down 8.4% | flat |
| 62 | Slovakia | 28.7% | 2024 | down 0.8% | flat |
| 63 | Morocco | 28.3% | 2024 | up 16.8% | rising |
| 64 | Madagascar | 28.1% | 2024 | down 34.2% | falling |
| 65 | Djibouti | 27.3% | 2024 | up 13.3% | rising |
| 66 | Côte d'Ivoire | 25.9% | 2018 | — | falling |
| 67 | Greece | 23.7% | 2024 | down 14.7% | falling |
| 68 | Niger | 23.2% | 2024 | up 108.9% | volatile |
| 69 | Central African Republic | 22.2% | 2020 | down 10.0% | flat |
| 70 | Qatar | 21.6% | 2018 | — | falling |
| 71 | Burkina Faso | 20.8% | 2024 | up 11.0% | falling |
| 72 | Azerbaijan | 19.1% | 2024 | up 78.4% | rising |
| 73 | Türkiye | 17.3% | 2024 | down 19.7% | flat |
| 74 | United Arab Emirates | 14.4% | 2018 | — | rising |
| 75 | Nepal | 13.8% | 2020 | up 32.4% | rising |
| 76 | Jordan | 10.7% | 2024 | down 67.4% | volatile |
| 77 | Algeria | 6.6% | 2018 | — | rising |
| 78 | Afghanistan | 2.8% | 2018 | — | volatile |
About this data
Share of female sole proprietors is the proportion of female newly registered sole proprietors out of the total number of newly registered sole proprietors in the economy in the calendar year. A sole proprietorship is a business entity owned and managed by a single individual who is indistinguishable from the business and personally liable.