Korean Entrepreneurship Index Rises for 2 Consecutive Years, Ranking 6th Globally

Global Entrepreneurship Research Association
2024 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) Results

The Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development announced on the 19th that South Korea ranked 6th out of 56 countries in the 2024 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) survey. This marks a consecutive rise for two years, following 9th place in 2022 and 8th place in 2023.

The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), published by the Global Entrepreneurship Research Association (GERA), is a non-profit international study that assesses the level of entrepreneurship by country and analyzes the correlation between entrepreneurship and economic growth. More than 50 countries, including South Korea, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Israel, and Japan, participate in the survey, which gathers data from national experts and the general public on overall startup environments, government policies, and perceptions of entrepreneurship to calculate an index.

Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development

South Korea has participated since 2008, and this year’s entrepreneurship index scored 6.0 out of 10, an increase of 0.2 points from the previous year. According to the expert survey, which examines overall startup conditions such as government policies, educational environment, and market conditions, South Korea recorded higher scores than the previous year in seven categories, including ‘market openness (5.7 points, up 0.7)’, ‘level of external cooperation (5.8 points, up 0.5)’, ‘primary and secondary education and training (4.8 points, up 0.3)’, and ‘financial environment (5.4 points, up 0.3)’.

In the general adult survey, which investigates startup activity, entrepreneurial intention and motivation, and perceptions of entrepreneurship, the proportion of respondents who answered that “starting a business is easy in our country” increased compared to the previous year (40.2%, up 1.5 percentage points), and the proportion who reported “fear of startup failure” was 29.2%, the second lowest among participating countries.

Regarding entrepreneurship, 38.5% of respondents currently engaged in early-stage startup activities said they consider the social and environmental impact of their companies more than profits and growth. Due to the accelerating digitalization, the proportion of respondents using digital technologies to sell products and services was 19.1%, an increase of 7.2 percentage points from the previous year.

Choi Yeol-su, Acting President of the Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development, said, “This announcement shows that entrepreneurship is gradually spreading in our country, and we will actively support the entire population?from elementary, middle, and high school students to university students and the general public?to cultivate and demonstrate entrepreneurial spirit.”