To see if young people are more entrepreneurial and how many of them become entrepreneurs, one should take a look at youth entrepreneurship statistics.
Figures are showing that younger generations are more entrepreneurial than ever. However, this does not mean that they are already the most successful entrepreneurs.
So to understand young entrepreneurs, let’s consider the following stats and facts.
Key Young Entrepreneurs Statistics (Editor’s Pick)
- Young people are starting 7.7 companies each on average.
- Only 6.5% of young people in the EU were self-employed in 2018.
- 41% of teens say they would consider entrepreneurship as a career option.
10 Youth Entrepreneurship Statistics
1. 23% of small business owners in 2013 were young people.
In 2013, under a quarter (23%) of small business owners were young people. This shows a decline as the number was 35% in 1996, according to the Kauffman Foundation.
Source: Kauffman Foundation
2. On average, youth in their 20s and 30s are starting 7.7 companies each.
Global Entrepreneur Report came out with many interesting figures for entrepreneurship in 2016. Compared to older generations, young people in their 20s and 30s are both starting way more businesses. For instance, young people start 7.7 businesses each. For comparison, Baby Boomers who are older than 50 start 3.3 businesses each.
Source: Global Entrepreneur Report
3. Young people start more than twice as many businesses as Baby Boomers.
Global Entrepreneur Report from 2016 surveyed 3,000 multimillionaires in 18 countries around the world. According to their answers, young people have started more than twice as many businesses as Baby Boomers have.
Source: Global Entrepreneur Report
4. In 2018, only 6.5% of the working youth were self-employed in the EU (aged 20 to 29).
According to data from OECD, in 2018 in the European Union, only 6.5% of those aged between 20 and 29 were self-employed. Moreover, the number of self-employed young people has fallen from 2.7 million in 2009 to 2.5 million in 2018.
Source: OECD
5. Young women in the EU are only about 60% as likely to be entrepreneurs as young men.
According to OECD stats, the gender gap shows in entrepreneurship, as well. In 2018, 4.8% of young women were self-employed in the EU, compared to 8% of young men (i.e. 60% as likely).
Source: OECD
6. More than four in 10 (44.5%) of the EU youth were stopped from entrepreneurship due to the fear of failure.
What is stopping the EU youth from starting an enterprise is the fear of failure (for 44.5% of them). Also, only 26.3% of them said they feel they have the knowledge and skills needed for being an entrepreneur.
Source: OECD
7. 30% of US Millennials say they have a side hustle or some type of small business.
Millennials do have an entrepreneurial spirit in them. According to a survey of 1,000 Millennials, 1,000 Gen Xers, 1,000 Baby Boomers, Millennials are most likely to have a small business or a side hustle, i.e. 30% of them. Moreover, for 19% of them, this is the main source of income.
Source: GoDaddy/OnePoll
8. The most popular entrepreneurial sectors for Millennials are arts, music, and entertainment (13%), food and beverages (12%), and sales and retail (10%).
According to a OnePoll survey on behalf of GoDaddy, Millennials are mostly entrepreneurial in the following sectors: arts, music, and entertainment (13%), food and beverages (12%), and sales and retail (10%).
Source: GoDaddy/OnePoll
9. Over four in 10 (41%) of teens say they would consider entrepreneurship as a career option.
While 41% of teens say they would consider being an entrepreneur for a career, compared to a traditional job, more girls think so than boys. For instance, 61% of teen girls would consider entrepreneurship as a career. On the other hand, so would 54% of teen boys.
Source: Junior Achievement and EY
10. For 67% of young people, fear of failure is a reason for not starting their own business.
While teens do suggest they are thinking about becoming entrepreneurs, there is one thing stopping most of them. For 67% of teens, fear of failure is a reason for not going down the entrepreneurial path. The research included 1000 American teenagers aged 13 to 17.
Source: Junior Achievement and EY
Final Verdict
While young entrepreneurs statistics show that teenagers are thinking about a career in entrepreneurship, many are stopped by a fear of failure. Entrepreneur statistics are a good way for anyone planning to start a business to get informed about this career option. Also, millennial entrepreneurs statistics demonstrate how the Millennial generation is navigating through entrepreneurship.
