Guinea-Bissau: New businesses registered (number)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Guinea-Bissau's new businesses registered (number) rose 14.1% on 2023 (from 524 to 598).

Across the 11 yearly changes before that (2013 to 2023), the average change was +7% and a typical year strayed about 26.6% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 57% in 2021 and the biggest yearly fall was 35.7% in 2018. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 1% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2024, Guinea-Bissau had the 116th highest value of the 127 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Guinea-Bissau in the 2024 ranking

• Chad — 113th of 127: 1,391
• Niger — 114th of 127: 1,371
• St. Kitts and Nevis — 115th of 127: 619
• West Bank and Gaza — 117th of 127: 525
• Liechtenstein — 118th of 127: 407
• Comoros — 119th of 127: 387

What this measures

New businesses registered are the number of new limited liability corporations (or its equivalent) registered in the calendar year.

Limitations: The definition of entrepreneurship used is limited to the formal sector. Yet, it should be noted that the exclusion of the informal sector is based on the difficulties of quantifying the number of firms that compose it, rather than on its relevance for developing economies. Data collected from economies categorized as offshore financial centers by Eurostat are excluded from the analysis, because registered entities in these countries may not fit the objective of the Entrepreneurship Database aiming at measuring formally registered companies with actual economic activities.

All 13 values

New businesses registered (number) in nearby economies

• Angola — 30,956 (2024)
• Benin — 5,522 (2024)
• Botswana — 21,456 (2024)
• Burkina Faso — 10,046 (2024)
• Burundi — 7,263 (2024)
• Cabo Verde — 7,719 (2024)
• Central African Republic — 258 (2024)
• Chad — 1,391 (2024)
• Comoros — 387 (2024)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 6,095 (2024)
• Congo, Rep.

More private sector & trade data for Guinea-Bissau

• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$489 million (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$313 million (2025)
• Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 31.73% (2025)
• Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 37.3% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in Sub-Saharan Africa (% of total merchandise imports) — 44.49% (2023)
• Merchandise imports by the reporting economy, residual (% of total merchandise imports) — 0.00341% (2023)
• Merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current US$) — US$322.03 million (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within region (% of total merchandise imports)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Guinea-Bissau's new businesses registered (number)?

598 in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2012?

It is up 73.33% from 345 in 2012 (4.69% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 692 in 2017 and the lowest 324 in 2019.

How does Guinea-Bissau rank?

116th highest of 127 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in new businesses registered (number) unusual for Guinea-Bissau?

In 2024, Guinea-Bissau's new businesses registered (number) rose 14.1% on 2023 (from 524 to 598). Across the 11 yearly changes before that (2013 to 2023), the average change was +7% and a typical year strayed about 26.6% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator IC.BUS.NREG, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Entrepreneurship Database, World Bank (WB), uri: https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/entrepreneurship Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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