An increasing number of people are going into entrepreneurship around the globe, according to a new report entitled 2004 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM). Sponsored by Babson College and London Business School, the study finds that 73 million adults out of 566 million total labor force from 34 participating countries are either starting their businesses or managing new businesses that they own.

The study is a collaboration of research and academic institutions from Argentina, Finland, Croatia, Japan, and 30 other countries. Now on its 6th year, the GEM project is a cross-national assessment of entrepreneurship. The GEM estimates the overall level of entrepreneurial activity by calculating the Total Entrepreneurial Activity Index (TEA), which is the sum of people in the process of starting their businesses.

According to the study, there are two motivations for starting a business: (a) to exploit a perceived business opportunity (“opportunity entrepreneurship”); or (b) because employment opportunities are either non-existent or unsatisfactory (“necessity entrepreneurship”). The study finds that three in five (65%) of those starting their businesses are opportunity entrepreneurs, while two in five (35%) are necessity entrepreneurs.

To read the complete report, download the 52-page report (PDF file) from the GEM Consortium website.