Superentrepreneurs and Job Growth: How the Philippines Ranks Among the World’s Best

The Philippines ranks 50th globally on the superentrepreneurs index, which analyzes the location of nearly 2,500 individuals who have amassed billion-dollar fortunes by creating new businesses or scaling up small ones into successful ventures. The index reveals that countries with higher levels of superentrepreneurs per capita have lower unemployment rates, benefiting all social groups, with the middle class benefiting the most. A 20% increase in the number of superentrepreneurs in the Philippines could potentially create 9,000 high-value jobs related to advanced services or high-tech component construction.

Nima Sanandaji, President of the European Centre for Entrepreneurship and Policy Reform, notes that high-end entrepreneurship is essential for creating the jobs of the future, particularly at a time when traditional jobs are becoming obsolete. Therefore, fostering entrepreneurship on a broad scale is necessary for countries to develop the jobs and technologies of the future, rather than focusing solely on superentrepreneurs.

The study shows that there is a strong link between the share of superentrepreneurs and unemployment rates. Each additional superentrepreneur per million adult inhabitants is associated with 0.9 percentage points lower unemployment overall and 1.1 percentage points lower unemployment for the middle class.

Countries that have strong property rights, lower taxes on profits and capital gains, easy-to-do business environments, and good grades in the PISA international school study have the highest concentration of superentrepreneurs. The United States tops the list of countries with the highest concentration of superentrepreneurs, followed by Canada, Russia, and Oceania. China has the same concentration of superentrepreneurs as Europe, while in Asia, except for China, South America, and Africa, the concentration of superentrepreneurs is currently much lower, but the potential for future growth is high.

The following countries have the highest concentration of high-performing entrepreneurs. The concentration is stated as entrepreneurs who have created at least one billion dollars per one million inhabitants aged 15-64 years.

• Singapore (4.7)
• Switzerland (4.1)
• Cyprus (3.6)
• USA (3.1)
• Israel (2.6)
• Sweden (2.0)
• Ireland (1.9)
• Australia (1.8)
• United Kingdom (1.8)
• Canada (1.7)