Entrepreneurship is having a moment in 2025. More people are filing, more regions are heating up, and founders look more diverse than ever. But the story isn’t all hype. Cash flow is still the make-or-break, hiring is tough, and debt is a real weight for many small firms. This statistics roundup pulls together the numbers that actually matter for new and seasoned entrepreneurs.
Global Entrepreneurship Landscape
- 20% of adults globally are engaged in entrepreneurial activities representing approximately 582-665 million entrepreneurs worldwide.
- One in eight working-age people globally is an entrepreneur (1 in 8 ratio).
- The global entrepreneurship services market is projected to reach $5.1 billion by 2033.
- The startup ecosystem’s global annual growth rate averaged 21% by 2025.
- Asia-Pacific is the fastest-growing startup region, up 27.4% YoY.
- 19% of US adults are actively engaged in starting or running a new business, representing historic high levels of entrepreneurial activity.
Entrepreneurship Demographics & Trends
- 62% of entrepreneurs hold a bachelor’s degree.
- Millennial business owners have increased by 27% since 2023.
- Gen X owns 49% of US small businesses, Baby Boomers 30%, and Millennials 21%.
- The average US entrepreneur is 36.4 years old.
- Women own 22% of majority-owned US businesses.
- 231 million women worldwide are engaged in entrepreneurship.
- Women of color own half of all female-owned businesses in the US.
- 43% of nonemployer businesses in the US are women-owned.
Entrepreneurship Motivation & Industry
- 28% start for autonomy (“be their own boss”).
- 22% are motivated by dissatisfaction with corporate life.
- 13% are driven by passion.
- 15% of entrepreneurs operate in retail/ecommerce.
- Most new businesses are in consumer or business services (75%).
- 5.2 million new business applications filed in the US in 2024, up 48.6% from 2019.
- S corporations and LLCs are most popular: 39% and 34% of business structures.
- US new business registrations are consistently over 400,000/month since late 2020.
Survival, Growth, & Challenges
- Over two-thirds of startups fail within 10 years.
- 21.5% fail within the first year.
- Service-based businesses are more than twice as likely to survive as product-based.
- 41% of businesses that invest in marketing double their chances of survival.
Employment & Economic Impact
- US small businesses provide 61.7 million jobs, nearly half of private employment.
- 49% of small firms have 4 or fewer employees.
- 56% of business owners attempted hiring in April 2025; 85% had trouble attracting qualified applicants.
Funding & Finance
- 78% of US solopreneurs use personal funds to start up.
- 41% of small businesses generate over $1M annual revenue.
- Only 18% earn less than $100,000 annually.
- 46% of firms earned a profit in 2023.
Entrepreneurship Debt and Risk
Business Debt Levels
- 71% of employer firms currently have debt outstanding (29% have no outstanding debt).
- 39% of businesses had more than $100,000 in debt in 2024, unchanged from 2023 but remaining higher than prepandemic levels.
- 70% of small businesses carry some degree of debt with a total of $18 trillion owed by end of 2022.
- SBA interest rates range between 10.50% to 16.25%.
- 24% of businesses are looking to refinance or pay down debt in 2023, down from 32% in 2020.
Risk and Failure Statistics Related to Debt
- 21.5% of private sector businesses in the US fail in the first year.
- After five years, 48.4% have failed; after 10 years, 65.1% have closed.
- 82% of small businesses fail due to poor cash flow management.
- 65% of owners cited financial issues like cash flow visibility or access to capital as reason for failure.
- 77% of firms experienced challenges with rising costs as major financial challenge.
- 52% struggled with paying operating expenses.
- 41% of applicants that were denied financing in 2024 cited having “too much debt already” compared to 22% in 2021.
- 62% of businesses surveyed used personal funds to address their financial challenges in 2020.
Entrepreneurship Cash Flow Management & Accounts Receivable
Cash Flow Management Challenges
- 82% of businesses that fail cite cash flow problems as one of the main reasons.
- 49% of small businesses struggle with uneven cash flow.
- 74% of small businesses report having enough cash to cover at least one month of operating expenses.
- 31% of small businesses had only enough cash reserves for 1-2 months.
- 60% of small businesses face cash flow issues annually.
- More than 60% of enterprises that fail are actually profitable; they have just run out of money.
- 85% of businesses employ one or more specific strategies to manage cash flow.
- 27% of business owners dipped into personal savings or didn’t pay themselves a salary in the last year.
- 42% reported making just the minimum payment on credit cards, up from 28% a year earlier.
Accounts Receivable and Payment Issues
- 81% of businesses have experienced an increase in delayed payments.
- Small business owners dedicate an average of 10% of their workday chasing unpaid invoices.
- 34% of SMEs rely on overdrafts as a result of customers who don’t make payments on time.
- 75% of finance leaders say accounts receivable has become more strategic over the past 12-24 months.
There’s real momentum in entrepreneurship with more opportunities and more ways to win. But the basics still decide who makes it: keep cash tight, get paid faster, invest in customers, and borrow with a plan.
Sources
Primary Government Sources
- U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA): 2025 profiles, economic bulletins, and official reports
- Federal Reserve Banks: Small Business Credit Survey 2025, employer firm reports, and specialized studies
- Bureau of Labor Statistics: Business survival rates and employment data
Academic & Research Organizations
- Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM): 2024/2025 Global Report and USA National Report
- University research: Babson College entrepreneurship studies
- International research consortiums: GERA publications
Industry & Financial Sources
- Credit reporting agencies: Atradius B2B payment studies
- Financial services: LendingTree, Credit Suite lending statistics
- Accounts receivable specialists: Upflow collections data
Business Intelligence Firms
- E-commerce platforms: Shopify entrepreneur facts
- Business services: Hostinger, NorthOne, Plaky statistics
- Risk management: Embroker comprehensive studies
