The recent Shopify Entrepreneurship Index, the ranking on global entrepreneurship across 40 countries and all U.S. states, ranked Lithuania second after the U.S.
The Shopify Entrepreneurship Index measures the economic impact of entrepreneurs in Shopify’s ecosystem on national economies, tracking the fastest growth and greatest contributions.
The leader is the U.S., having witnessed an 11% increase in total jobs supported* since 2021. Delaware was the top-ranked state, Wyoming came in second, and California ranked number three.
Lithuania’s #2 position is a proof to the country’s investment in financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and new technologies that keep its businesses competitive globally. Romania, the third-place winner, has seen a huge rise in ecommerce following an increasing digital transformation of the country.
Japan has emerged as Asia’s entrepreneurship engine, earning 10th place on the Index. Much of Japan’s growth comes from its government’s focus on cross-border trade and improving the funding environment for small businesses. Read on to learn more about these findings.
Leaders in Europe
Despite the uncertain macroeconomic environment and the war in Ukraine, European entrepreneurship has proven resilient. Four European countries have earned spots in the Index’s top ten ranking: Lithuania (#2), Romania (#3), United Kingdom (#4), and the Czech Republic (#5).
Ranked second globally, Lithuania’s booming ecommerce grew 14% between 2020 and 2021, and is projected by the International Trade Administration to continue at a rate of 5% annually over the coming years.
Methodology
For the purpose of the Shopify Entrepreneurship Index, Shopify worked with Deloitte to measure the GDP impact, business activity impact, jobs supported, and exports generated by millions of entrepreneurs in our ecosystem over the last year.
To create the rankings, Shopify compared that impact to national values for each country and state on the basis of the public data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the International Labour Organization (ILO), and government statistical agencies. Read more about our methodology.
The Index will be updated quarterly to offer a comprehensive and ever-evolving benchmark of global entrepreneurship.
All stats attributable to the Shopify Entrepreneurship Index and Deloitte.
* “Total jobs supported” refers to the number of jobs that are supported or sustained by merchants who use Shopify’s platform to sell goods and services. This includes merchants’ jobs, the jobs of their suppliers, and the jobs that are supported or sustained by the spending of increased household income resulting from entrepreneurial activity. In other words, it takes into account the entire network of jobs that are supported by the economic activity generated by Shopify’s merchants.
** “Direct jobs created” refers to the number of people who are employed by merchants as well as self-employed merchants. It represents the number of jobs that are directly attributable to the presence and activities of Shopify’s merchants.
