Mali: New businesses registered (number)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2020, Mali's new businesses registered (number) fell 32% on 2019 (from 4,033 to 2,741).

Across the 10 yearly changes before that (2010 to 2019), the average change was +50% and a typical year strayed about 85.4% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 standard deviations below 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 182.1% in 2012 and the biggest yearly fall was 44.2% in 2017. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2011 to 2020 the straight-line trend is upward, about 267.8 a year. A straight line explains 64% of the movement over 10 observed years.

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

Closest to Mali in the 2020 ranking

• United Arab Emirates — 2nd of 8: 19,050
• Oman — 3rd of 8: 5,804
• Trinidad and Tobago — 4th of 8: 4,344
• Lesotho — 6th of 8: 1,981
• St. Vincent and the Grenadines — 7th of 8: 323
• Grenada — 8th of 8: 217

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 12 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 Mali

• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$6.98 billion (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$4.86 billion (2025)
• Merchandise exports to high-income economies (% of total merchandise exports) — 35.35% (2023)
• Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise exports) — 7.55% (2023)
• Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in Sub-Saharan Africa (% of total merchandise exports) — 57.1% (2023)
• Merchandise exports by the reporting economy, residual (% of total merchandise exports) — 0% (2023)
• Merchandise exports by the reporting economy (current US$) — US$4.48 billion (2023)
• Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies within region (% of total merchandise exports)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Mali's new businesses registered (number)?

2,741 in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2009?

It is up 778.53% from 312 in 2009 (21.84% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 4,033 in 2019 and the lowest 312 in 2009.

Is the latest change in new businesses registered (number) unusual for Mali?

In 2020, Mali's new businesses registered (number) fell 32% on 2019 (from 4,033 to 2,741). Across the 10 yearly changes before that (2010 to 2019), the average change was +50% and a typical year strayed about 85.4% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Entrepreneurship Database, World Bank (WB), uri: https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/entrepreneurship.

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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