50 Entrepreneurship Statistics For 2024 (Global data)

As per the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2022-2023 report, 31 million Americans started new businesses in 2023.

Did you know that women make up 40% of the entrepreneurs in the US? Although there is a gap of 10% for an even distribution, it will soon fill as women are rapidly leaving their mark in various fields of work, especially in tech.

Let us uncover some insightful stats on entrepreneurship in the US and around the world for 2024 in this post.

Entrepreneurship Statistics (Top Picks for 2024)

  • As we enter 2024, there are 31 million entrepreneurs in the United States.
  • In the US alone, there are 31 million entrepreneurs as of the beginning of 2024.
  • On average, It takes 6 days to start a small business in the United States.
  • 62% of entrepreneurs have a bachelor’s degree.
  • Only 10% of startups are able to succeed in the long run. The startup failure rate is 90%!
  • The average age of an entrepreneur is 42.
  • The United States is the country with the most startups.
  • There are 252 million female entrepreneurs in the world.
  • 55% of adults in the U.S. have started at least one business in their lifetime.

General Entrepreneurship Statistics

  1. There are 582 million entrepreneurs in the world.
  2. In the US alone, there are 31 million entrepreneurs as of the beginning of 2024.
  3. 90% of entrepreneurs are self-made.
  4. 96% of self-employed people don’t intend to return to work for others.
  5. 5.2 million new businesses were started in 2022 alone. This number slightly decreased from 2021, when the number was 5.4 million.
  6. 20% of entrepreneurs manage or own a business with a family member.
  7. 39% of entrepreneurs are very happy with what they are doing.
Levels of happiness of entrepreneurs in the United States

Here is a table showing the levels of happiness of entrepreneurs in the United States:

Level of HappinessShare of Respondents
Happy39%
Somewhat Happy36%
Neutral10.4%
Somewhat Unhappy10.2%
Very Unhappy4.5%
  1. Dissatisfaction with corporate America is the prime reason to start a business for 60.87% of the people.
Dissatisfaction with corporate America is the prime reason to start a business for 60.87% of the people

Here is  a table showing why people start their own businesses:

Reason to start a businessShare of Respondents 
Dissatisfaction with corporate America60.87%
Desire to be oneself’s boss47.64%
Opportunity to pursue the passion31%
An opportunity presented itself21.36%
State of being newly Unemployed23.44%
Not ready to retire20%
  1. Getting a company registered in the United States takes anywhere from 6 days to 3 months. New Zealand takes an average of 1 day to start a new business.
  2. Starting a business also differs according to the business type. E.g., Starting a clothing line can take a year or a year and a half. Retail stores can be opened within 6 months. An online store can be launched within a week. It takes 2-10 weeks to build an app.
  1. According to the National Entrepreneurship Context Index (NECI) Score, the United Arab Emirates is the best country for entrepreneurs in 2023.

Here is the list of the top 20 countries for Entrepreneurs:

CountryNECI Score
United Arab Emirates6.8
Netherlands6.3
Finland6.2
Saudi Arabia6.1
Lithuania6.1
Norway5.7
Korea Republic5.7
Switzerland5.5
Qatar5.5
Spain5.4
United States5.3
Sweden5.3
France5.1
Germany5.1
Canada5.1
Latvia5.0
India5.0
United Kingdom4.9
Luxembourg4.9
Israel4.9
  1. 61% of entrepreneurs would be happy if their careers were to end today.
  2. Over 50% of adults globally want to start a business to make money because jobs are scarce.
  3. 20% of people haven’t pursued entrepreneurship because they are loyal to their current employer.
  4. 58% of entrepreneurs are ex-corporate employees.

Sources: Forbes, Freshbooks, Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, Guidant, Xero.

Small Business Statistics for Entrepreneurs

  1. 65% of small businesses in the United States are profitable.
  2. 54% of small company owners believe the Covid19 is still affecting their operations. 19.4%, on the other hand, think that the impact is over. 26.1% of people still are unsure.
  3. Small businesses in the United States employ 61.7 million people as of 2023, which is equivalent to 46.4% of the working U.S. population.
  4. 70% of small business owners work 40 hours every week.
  5. 65% of small company owners believe their companies are profitable.
  6. 39% of small company owners want to spend money on digital marketing, while 23% want to spend on traditional marketing.
  7. 23% of small businesses plan to have complete remote employees by 2023-2025.
  8. 87% of small businesses starting in 2023 plan to operate in a hybrid environment.
  9. Inflation is the biggest problem for small business owners in the United States as of 2023.
10 problems experienced by small business owners in 2023

Here is a table showing the top 10 problems experienced by small business owners in 2023:

ProblemsShare of respondents
Inflation29%
Quality of Labor26%
Taxes15%
Cost of Labor10%
Other5%
Government Regulations4%
Cost/Availablity of Insurance4%
Poor Sales3%
Competition from larger businesses3%
Finance and interest rates1%
  1. It was estimated that Small businesses would spend around 680 billion in 2022 on IT services. This number is set to reach 725 billion in 2023.

Small Business Finance Statistics for Entrepreneurs

  1. One of the top three financial goals for 36% of entrepreneurs is “getting money.”
  2. 40% of crowdfunding projects raise financing for commercial and entrepreneurial initiatives.
  3. 29% of small business owners are worried about inflation.
  4. 64% of small company entrepreneurs start their companies with less than $10,000.
64% of small company entrepreneurs start their companies with less than $10,000
  1. 2,680 seed and angel deals are completed in the US in 2023 so far. This is down 23% from the same period in 2022
  2. The median seed round size in the US was $1.8 million in the first three quarters of 2023, down from $2.2 million in the same period in 2022
  3. it is estimated that there were approximately 2,000 early-stage venture capital agreements completed in the US in the first three quarters of 2023. This is down from approximately 2,500 early-stage venture capital agreements completed in the same period in 2022.
  4. The value of early-stage venture capital (VC) agreements peaked in the first quarter of 2022, reaching over $50 billion USD, almost 11 billion USD less than in the fourth quarter of 2021.
  5. In the fourth quarter of that year, the global venture capital market saw 1,072 late-stage agreements. Late-stage venture capital agreements totaled 964 in Q1 of 2022.
  6. The median income of small business owners is $65,500.

Sources: Oberlo, Guidant, Quickbooks, Statista, Payscale.Crunchbase

Entrepreneur Demographics

  1. As per Guidant’s survey, 77.5% of small business owners in the United States are males, while 23.4% are female as of 2023.
Gender split of small business owners in the United States

Here is a table showing the gender split of small business owners in the United States:

GenderShare of Respondents 
Male77.5%
Female23.4%
Self Describe0.2%
  1. GenX is the segment with the highest number of entrepreneurs in the United States. In Guidant’s annual report, 46.46% of the entrepreneurs surveyed belong to Genx. Boomers are just behind with a 45.4% share.
Distribution of entrepreneurs in the United States by Generation

Here is a table showing the distribution of entrepreneurs in the United States by Generation:

GenerationShare of respondents
Gen X46.5%
Boomers45.5%
Millennials7%
Gen Z0.5%
Post-war0.5%

Sage Reads: Insights into Gen Alpha

  1. 84.7% of the Entrepreneurs in the United States belong to the white race, 4.1% are Hispanic, and 4% belong to the black community.
Distribution of entrepreneurs in the United States by race

Here is a table showing the distribution of entrepreneurs in the United States by race:

RaceShare of Respondents
White84.7%
Black4%
Hispanic4.1%
Asian American4.1%
Others2.7%
  1. 40.6% of the entrepreneurs in the United States support the republican party, while 21.9% support the democrats.

Below is the complete breakdown of the same:

Political PartyShare of respondents
Republican40.6%
Republicans21.9%
Libertarian5.4%
Green0.2%
Unaffiliated31.9%
  1. 6% of American small businesses are veteran-owned.
  1. The state of Florida has the highest number of entrepreneurs, with 12.2% of the adult population involved in entrepreneurship.
Number of Entrepreneurs by State

Here is a table showing the number of entrepreneurs by state:

StateNumber of Entrepreneurs (as a percentage of adults)
Florida12.2%
Texas11.8%
California11.6%
Georgia11.4%
Arizona11.3%
North Carolina11.2%
Colorado11.1%
Tennessee11.0%
Utah10.9%
South Carolina10.8%
Oklahoma10.7%

Source: Guidant, Statista.

Entrepreneur Qualification Statistics

Entrepreneurs with higher levels of education tend to start businesses that have higher success rates. However, many successful entrepreneurs do not have a college degree.

  1. 62% of entrepreneurs have a bachelor’s degree, while 6% hold a high school diploma.
Entrepreneurs And the Degree they Hold

Here is a table showing entrepreneurs and the degree they hold:

DegreeShare of entrepreneurs
Bachelor’s degree.62%
Associate degree.14%
Master’s degree.11%
High school diploma.6%

Female Entrepreneur Statistics

  1. 252 million entrepreneurs in the world are females.
  2. Women Earn 91¢ For Every $1 Earned By Men.
  3. 41% of small businesses that employ people are operated by women.
  4. 20% of small businesses that do not have women operate any employees.
  5. African-American women own 2.5% of small businesses.
  6. Women are more likely to own a sole proprietorship than males across the globe.
Women are more likely to own a sole proprietorship than males across the globe
  1. Nearly 40% of women entrepreneurs use cash to start their businesses.
  2. Retail is the most popular sector for female entrepreneurs.

Sources: Fit Small Businesses, Hubspot, GEM, Guidant.

Enterpensuhip Trends 2024

Entrepreneurship in Artificial Intelligence: AI has grown by multiple folds in recent times. AI entrepreneurship is still in its infancy phase, but it is a rapidly growing field with a lot of potential. If you are interested in becoming an AI entrepreneur, there are a number of firms that are specifically focused on AI startups.

Entrepreneurship in the Metaverse: There are around 21,727 Web3 startups globally as of 2023. This number has been growing rapidly in recent years as more and more entrepreneurs are attracted to the potential of Web3 to revolutionize how people interact on the internet.

Entrepreneurship in the gig economy: There are several benefits to being a part of the gig economy as an entrepreneur. To begin with, it provides entrepreneurs with the freedom to choose when and where they work. Additionally, it enables entrepreneurs to initiate their own ventures with minimal initial capital. Lastly, it affords entrepreneurs the chance to experiment with various business concepts, enabling them to discover the most effective strategies for their success. That is the reason 73.3 million people in the US choose freelancing.

Related Read:

About The Author

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top