India has been ranked second among 37 countries in entrepreneurial activity for the year 2002, according to a study released today by the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore.

The countries have been ranked on a total entrepreneurial activity index in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, 2002. Thailand tops the list with a TEA index of 18.9 per cent, while India is next with an index of 17.88 per cent.

Chile is third with a score of 15.2 per cent, Korea fourth with 14.9 per cent and Argentina fifth with 14.8 per cent. India ranked higher than China, the US, Israel, Singapore, the UK and Germany.

"India being ranked second among the 37 countries goes to prove that there is a significant positive change in terms of market perception, entrepreneurial capacity and financial support," said Prakash G Apte, director, IIM Bangalore.

The report says India's TEA index has been rising steadily from 8.97 per cent in 2000 to 11.55 per cent in 2001 and 17.88 per cent in 2002.

In other words, while the level of entrepreneurial activity increased by over 50 per cent between 2001 and 2002, it almost doubled between 2000 and 2002. More important, this rise comes amid a decline of 25 per cent in the global average between 2001 and 2002.

Like in the case of other countries covered in the report, the level of entrepreneurial activity in India was assessed through an adult population survey. The sample size was increased from 2,011 in the year 2001 to 3,047 in 2002.

The monitor has also attempted a ranking of economic clusters on entrepreneurial activity.

If the country groups were to be graded from low to high on entrepreneurial activity, the order will be as follows: developed Asian countries, East European countries, European Union, former British colonies outside Asia, Latin America and developing Asian countries, the report says.

It adds that 12 per cent of the world's population in the 18-64 years bracket is  entrepreneurial. Since the 37 countries covered in the report represent about 62 per cent of the world's population, the total number of entrepreneurial individuals in the world would be about 460 million, according to the report.

The demographic profile of entrepreneurs suggests that about two-thirds of them are men and one-third women with the largest represented age-group being 25-44.

The project was started in 1999 at the joint initiative of Babson College, USA, and London Business School, UK, with an initial membership of 10 countries, which has grown to 37 in 2002.