30 Money-Spinning Entrepreneurship Statistics for 2024

Becoming an entrepreneur is an exciting new experience that can be both gratifying and challenging. The latest entrepreneurship statistics show that entrepreneurship is on the rise. And this doesnt come as a surprise — being your own boss has a lot of advantages.

Let’s dive into the most compelling statistics about entrepreneurs and their enterprises!

Top 10 Entrepreneurship Statistics for 2024

  • China ranked second on the list of countries with the most unicorns in August 2021.
  • There are about 582 million entrepreneurs in the world.
  • The Middle East and Africa have the highest rates of female entrepreneurship.  
  • Around 19.1% of all unicorns in the world are related to fintech.
  • In March 2020, 804,398 companies in the US were less than a year old.
  • Texas is the best state in which to start a business.
  • 45.5% of people in the US believe that starting a business is simple.
  • Immigrant entrepreneurs accounted for 21.7% of all business owners in the US in 2019.
  • White entrepreneurs make up 70.88% of all business owners in 2019
  • Most entrepreneurs are highly educated.

Global Entrepreneurship Statistics

Recent times led many to develop an interest in becoming an entrepreneur. So, lets get familiar with some of the most gripping hand-picked statistics concerning the current number of entrepreneurs around the world, their attitude towards entrepreneurship, etc.

1. There are about 582 million entrepreneurs in the world.

(Source: Feedough / The Hill)

This means that one in every thirteen individuals in the world is an entrepreneur.

Taking this into account and the fact that the global population is about 7.753 billion, we can conclude that the percentage of entrepreneurs in the world is around 7.5%.

2. According to a 2021 study, around a third of the world’s citizens have a “very high” entrepreneurial spirit.

(Source: IPSOS)

Colombia (61%) is at the top of the list, followed by South Africa (56%) and Peru (55%). South Korea and Japan are at the bottom with the entrepreneurial index of 10% and 3%, respectively.

3. According to female entrepreneurship statistics for 2021, 32% of female entrepreneurs had a “very high” entrepreneurial spirit.

(Source: Statista)

As many as 36% had “high”, 25% had “moderate”, while only 7% had a “low” entrepreneurial spirit.

4. The Middle East and Africa have the highest rates of female entrepreneurship.

(Source: GEM Global Report)

Over 50% of adult women in Angola, about 33% in Togo, and over one in five women in Burkina Faso and Kazakhstan establish or run a new business. In contrast, Italy, Poland, and India have the lowest rates of female early-stage entrepreneurship.

5 Latvia had the highest Total early-stage Entrepreneurial Activity (15.4%) in 2020, as per entrepreneurship statistics 2020 (worldwide).

(Source: Statista)

Latvia was closely followed by Slovak Republic (13.9%) and Croatia (12.7%).

6. China ranked second on the list of countries with the most unicorns in August 2021.

(Source: The Asian Banker)

There were a total of 158 unicorn companies in China at that time, 8.5% of them having been established in the first eight months of 2021.

7. According to entrepreneurial statistics, there were 38 startups worth $10+ billion in August 2021.

(Source: The Asian Banker)

Bytedance, a company headquartered in China (the owner of TikTok and Douyin), is the worlds most valued unicorn, estimated at $140 billion in 2020. Other prominent unicorns include Stripe, an online payment processing company, and Elon Musks SpaceX.

8. Around 19.1% of all unicorns in the world are related to fintech.

(Source: The Asian Banker)

Other categories include internet software and services (16.5%), e-commerce and direct-to-consumer (10.7%), artificial intelligence (8.4%), and healthcare (7.1%).

US Entrepreneurship Statistics

For the past 20 years, the US has seen an increase in the number of entrepreneurs, now counting over 31 million.

Lets take a look at more compelling stats on US entrepreneurship!

9. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Texas is the best state to start a business in.

(Source: WalletHub)

Texas owes its ranking mainly due to a favorable business environment and relatively easy access to resources. Georgia, California, and Florida also rank high on the list.

10. 45.5% of Americans believe it’s easy to start a business.

(Source: PR Newswire)

Therefore, it isnt surprising that the US has one of the highest early-stage entrepreneurial activity rates in the world (15.6%) and that 63% of its citizens see entrepreneurship favorably as a realistic career pathway.

11. According to entrepreneurship statistics, the rate of new entrepreneurs in the US was 0.31% in 2019.

(Source: KIOE)

In other words, 310 out of 100,000 adults became business owners that year. The rate of new female entrepreneurs was 0.23%, while males accounted for 0.38% of new entrepreneurs.

These figures indicated a slight decrease in the number of new male entrepreneurs and no change in the number of new female entrepreneurs in comparison with the previous year.

12. Immigrant entrepreneurs accounted for 21.7% of all business owners in the US in 2019.

(Source: New American Economy)

Believe it or not, immigrants tend to be more enterprising than the general US population. Theyre the most enterprising in California, accounting for about 38.6% of all entrepreneurs there.

13. According to entrepreneurship statistics for 2020, 804,398 of US companies were less than a year old in March 2020.

(Source: Statista)

This is a significant increase in comparison to March 2019, when there were a total of 770,609 new companies registered.

14. In 2020, there was a small decrease in Total early-stage (TEA) Entrepreneurship in the US.

The US‘s entrepreneurial activity dropped from 17% in 2019 to 15% in 2020.

15. According to entrepreneur statistics for 2020, the pandemic affected the decision to start a business “to some extent” for 21% of Americans.

(Source: GEM Global Report)

In comparison, only 16% stated that the pandemic affected their decision to start a business “to a large extent.”

16. The US has the largest number of startups in the world.

(Source: FirstSiteGuide)

The US currently counts at least 70,762 startups.

17. JUUL Labs is the most well-funded US tech startup.

(Source: CB Insights)

This California-based e-cigarette firm recently reached a stunning $15 billion in disclosed equity funding.

18. Female entrepreneurship statistics from 2021 reveal that 40.4% of US entrepreneurs are women.

(Source: Zippia)

About 54.1% are men, while the gender of 5.5% of entrepreneurs is unknown.

19. Women of color own 5.4 million businesses in the US.

(Source: NAWBO)

These businesses employ about 2.1 million people and generate approximately $361 billion in annual revenue.

20. 4.2% of women-owned businesses generate over $1 million in revenues.

(Source: NAWBO)

In other words, one out of five women-owned businesses have a revenue of over $1 million.

21. Veterans make up 9.1% of business owners in the US.

(Source: Chase for Business / Military.com)

One of the little-known entrepreneur facts is that veterans are a highly business-minded group of Americans. This is why theyre 45% more likely to start their own company than average US citizens. They employ over 5 million people and contribute over $1 trillion to the economy.

22. The US had the largest number of unicorns in August 2021.

(Source: The Asian Banker)

There were a total of 402 unicorn companies in the US in that period.

23. The US accounted for 58.2% of new unicorn companies in 2021.

(Source: The Asian Banker)

This is because it added a whopping 184 new unicorns in the first eight months of 2021.

Entrepreneur Demographics — Stats and Facts

The entrepreneurial spirit is present in people of various ages and backgrounds. So, lets dive into the details and learn about the entrepreneurs backgrounds — their ethnicity, age, gender, education, etc.

24. According to MIT research, an average successful US entrepreneur is 45 years old.

(Source: Startup Regions)

The profile of the founders, on the other hand, differs substantially depending on the industry. For example, in the case of software development startups, the average age is 40 years. In contrast, in areas like oil, gas, and biotechnology, the average age is 47.

25. According to entrepreneurship stats from 2021, 36% of Millennials have a very high entrepreneurial spirit.

(Source: IPSOS)

The amount of Gen Xers with a very high entrepreneurial spirit index is slightly lower (33%), while only 29% Gen Zers and 25% Baby Boomers rate as having a very high entrepreneurial spirit.

26. Most entrepreneurs are highly educated.

(Source: Forbes)

While you can start a successful business as a dropout, this is exceptionally uncommon. About 95% of successful business owners hold at least a bachelors degree.

27. 31% of small business and franchise owners in 2021 were female.

(Source: Guidant Financial)

Entrepreneurship growth statistics show there was a slight increase in the number of female entrepreneurs in comparison with the previous year (when they made up 27% of business and franchise owners).

28. White entrepreneurs made up 70.88% of all business owners in 2019.

(Source: Zippia)

In comparison, only 14.34% of business owners were Hispanic or Latino, 6.16% were Asian, and 5.98% were Black or African American.

29. Asian entrepreneurs earn the highest average salary.

(Source: Zippia)

Their average salary amounts to $81,918. On the other hand, Black or African American entrepreneurs earn the lowest average salary ($73,535).

30. Recent entrepreneurship stats show that Gen X women make up 51% of US small business and franchise owners.

(Source: Guidant Financial)

Baby Boomers account for 31%, Millennials for 17%, while only 1% of business owners belong to Gen Z.

FAQ

Is entrepreneurship on the rise?

(Source: Forbes / The New York Times)

The number of new business applications in the US has recently increased dramatically. New enterprises started popping up at an unprecedented rate (24% higher than the previous year), recording an all-time high in 2020 (4.3 million new businesses).

What percentage of the population are entrepreneurs?

(Source: The Hill)

Some statistics indicate that roughly 7.5% of the world population are entrepreneurs (there are about 7.753 billion people in the world, about 582 million of which are entrepreneurs). The current number could be even higher since entrepreneurship is on the rise.

What percent of entrepreneurs are successful?

(Source: Guidant Financial / Investopedia)

The answer to this depends on your definition of success. About 78% of small businesses at least eight years old can be deemed successful in terms of profitability. Younger enterprises tend to be significantly less profitable.

If we take longevity as the main criterion, its important to know that a small number of companies manage to survive long. Namely, 35% of businesses manage to say open for a decade, while only 25% make it to the 15-year mark.

How many entrepreneurs started in 2020?

(Source: Salesforce)

According to the Census Bureau, the US entrepreneurs started a record number of new businesses (4.4 million) in 2020, amid the pandemic. This number represents a 24.3% increase compared to 2019 and a 51% increase compared to the 2010-19 average.

How many entrepreneurs fail?

(Source: Investopedia)

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 20% of small businesses fail at the very beginning (in the first two years), 45% go under within the first five years, 65% close within the first decade, while only 25% survive for 15 years or longer.

It’s also important to note that, according to statistics, about 37% of startups tend to fail due to a lack of profit or running out of capital.

What percentage of entrepreneurs make over 100k?

(Source: Medium)

On average, 39% of all US enterprises earn over $100,000 in annual revenue. The figures are significantly lower for female-owned companies, as only 12% of such companies make over $100,000 per year, and that number is shrinking every year.

What are the main features of an entrepreneur?

(Source: Harvard Business School Online / Vistage)

Successful entrepreneurs generally possess at least some of the following characteristics:

  • Motivation
  • Passion
  • Confidence
  • Innovativeness
  • Adaptability
  • Decisiveness
  • Persistence, etc.

ABOUT AUTHOR

After teaching for 8 years, Damjana found a new challenge — writing. With her academic background in the English language, doing research and writing is always fun and enjoyable for her. In her spare time, she loves binge-watching TV shows, especially crime documentaries, or spending time with her dogs.

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