Ukraine registered nearly 20,000 new companies during the first six months of 2026, marking the highest level of business creation in the past three years, according to data from the Unified State Register.
A total of 19,758 companies were established between January and June, an 8% increase compared with 18,277 registrations during the same period in 2025. The figure also exceeds the 18,414 new businesses recorded in the first half of 2024.
Business closures also increased. During the first half of the year, 6,563 companies were either terminated or entered the process of liquidation, up 28% year-on-year. Despite the rise in closures, company registrations significantly outpaced exits, resulting in a net increase of 13,195 businesses.
Wholesale trade recorded the largest growth, with 2,304 additional companies. The IT sector followed with 1,254 new businesses, while real estate added 1,104 companies. Civic organizations and building maintenance services also posted strong gains, with 859 and 824 new entities respectively.
Several sectors, however, experienced declines. The largest reductions were seen in public administration and defense, education, veterinary services, water supply, and arts and creative activities.
Kyiv accounted for the strongest regional growth, adding 5,338 companies. Lviv and Dnipropetrovsk regions followed with increases of 1,220 and 1,177 companies, respectively. Overall, business growth was recorded in 23 regions, while four regions saw declines. The sharpest decreases were reported in the frontline Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
More than half of all company closures resulted from liquidation procedures, while reorganizations accounted for about one-fifth. Bankruptcy proceedings represented 10% of closures, with the remainder resulting from court decisions or other administrative reasons.
According to Opendatabot, companies listed as "in the process of termination" are included in the closure statistics, although some may later return to active registration status.
