World’s Most Entrepreneurial Countries, 2024

The United States is the best country in the world for entrepreneurs, according to the Entrepreneurship Index compiled by CEOWORLD magazine. The ranking is based on a variety of factors such as innovation, competitiveness, infrastructure, labor skills, access to capital, and openness for business. The US is home to Silicon Valley, Google, Apple, and other global success stories that make it stand out in the world of entrepreneurship. With a highly skilled workforce, easy access to capital for entrepreneurs, and a competitive business environment, the US scores high across the board. The index evaluates 100 economies, accounting for 95% of the global GDP, and the US tops the list for the overall “best countries for entrepreneurship” for 2024. If you’re an entrepreneur looking for the best place to start your business, the US is certainly a great option to consider.

What are the most entrepreneurial countries in the world?

According to the CEOWORLD magazine Entrepreneurship Index for 2024, the United States has been recognized as the world’s most entrepreneurial country. Germany and the United Kingdom followed as second and third, respectively. Israel ranked fourth, with the United Arab Emirates in fifth, and Poland in sixth place. Spain, Sweden, India, and France rounded out the top ten most entrepreneurial countries, in that order.

Australia took the eleventh spot, followed by Estonia and Ireland. Malaysia was ranked fourteenth in the CEOWORLD magazine’s ranking of the world’s most entrepreneurial economies for 2021. Saudi Arabia came in fifteenth place, followed by South Korea, Canada, the Philippines, and Denmark, ranked nineteenth. Switzerland ranked 20th out of the world’s 100 most entrepreneurial countries for 2024.

World's Most Entrepreneurial Countries, 2024

Detailed findings & methodology: Researchers at CEOWORLD magazine conducted a study to determine the rankings of 190 countries based on six key categories: innovation, competitiveness, labor skills, infrastructure, access to capital, and openness for business. The researchers evaluated these dimensions by analyzing 18 indicators that were categorized into six key categories. Each individual indicator was given equal weighting within each of the six categories, and some indicators were comprised of 2-3 sub-indicators that were also weighted equally.

The study was based on a global survey conducted by CEOWORLD magazine in partnership with the Global Business Policy Institute (GBPI) with 120,000 participants between January 19th and March 24th, 2024. CEOWORLD magazine utilized a panel of experts to review data points gathered from sources such as the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the World Economic Forum, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), U.S. News & World Report, the United Nations Economic and Social Council, and the World Bank. The final choice of countries was based on a consensus from these sources, with editorial judgment used to determine their position on the list. All data is from the most recent period available. Some countries and territories were excluded from the official statistics due to a lack of necessary data, while others with low initial scores were excluded from the list, as their inclusion would create misleading results.

It should be noted that this ranking is not the most important aspect to consider when choosing a place to build a business and is only one element to consider. The rankings are the result of a rigorous analytical exercise, incorporating multiple data sources, without relying on investment promotion agencies (IPA) and government industry trade data submissions.

The full sample of 120,000 respondents has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 1.2 percentage points. Additionally, one should bear in mind that there may be possible sources of error, such as coverage, nonresponse, and measurement error, that could affect the results in all survey research.

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