Tanzania: New business density (new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2018, Tanzania's new business density (new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64) fell 0.05 on 2017 (from 0.22 to 0.17).

Across the 11 yearly changes before that (2007 to 2017), the average change was +0.00387 and a typical year strayed about 0.04 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.4 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.07 in 2010 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.07 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 2009 to 2018 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 12% 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

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

Closest to Tanzania in the 2018 ranking

• Solomon Islands — 3rd of 8: 1.09
• Myanmar — 4th of 8: 0.39
• Afghanistan — 5th of 8: 0.22
• Tajikistan — 7th of 8: 0.15
• Kiribati — 8th of 8: 0.03

What this measures

The number of newly registered firms with limited liability per 1,000 working-age people (ages 15-64) per 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.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a unweighted average.

All 13 values

New business density (new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64) in nearby economies

• Angola — 1.55 (2024)
• Benin — 0.69 (2024)
• Botswana — 13.33 (2024)
• Burkina Faso — 0.77 (2024)
• Burundi — 0.98 (2024)
• Cabo Verde — 21.76 (2024)
• Central African Republic — 0.1 (2024)
• Chad — 0.13 (2024)
• Comoros

More private sector & trade data for Tanzania

• Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 27.47% (2025)
• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$14.81 billion (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$9.96 billion (2025)
• Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World (% of total merchandise imports) — 18.85% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 41.68% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise imports) — 49.37% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in Middle East & North Africa (% of total merchandise imports) — 1.18% (2023)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Tanzania's new business density (new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64)?

0.17 in 2018, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2006?

It is down 2.87% from 0.18 in 2006 (0.24% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 0.34 in 2013 and the lowest 0.17 in 2018.

Is the latest change in new business density (new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64) unusual for Tanzania?

In 2018, Tanzania's new business density (new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64) fell 0.05 on 2017 (from 0.22 to 0.17). Across the 11 yearly changes before that (2007 to 2017), the average change was +0.00387 and a typical year strayed about 0.04 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.4 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Where does this data come from?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator IC.BUS.NDNS.ZS, 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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