Hawai'i has one of the lowest entrepreneurial activity rates in the country, though is rapidly increasing the number of people who go into business, according to a new study.

The Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity, an annual study that measures business startup activity, found Hawai'i had the eighth-lowest amount of activity in the nation in 2007. Its rate of 210 entrepreneurs per 100,000 people was only better than rates found in West Virginia, Alabama, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Connecticut and Rhode Island have lower rates.

But the report also noted that Hawai'i had the second-largest increase in activity rates over the past decade, trailing only Alaska in increasing number of business formations.

The report's index of entrepreneurial activity is made up of the percentage of people ages 20 to 64 who start a business and devote 15 or more hours a week to it. Hawai'i's index was 0.21, or less than the national average of 0.30.

The report also found that immigrants outpace native-born Americans in business formation, while men are now twice as likely as women to start a business.