The growth of private entrepreneurs in Ukraine amounted to 66.6 thousand in nine months
In September 2026, Ukraine recorded a record number of new private entrepreneur registrations — 27.4 thousand. A total of over 222,000 new private businesses were opened in the first nine months of the year. This was reported by Economichna Pravda citing Opendatabot, according to the portal PromPolitInform.
According to the Unified State Register, 222,288 new small business entities officially began their operations during the first three quarters of the current year. At the same time, the number of business closures showed a significant 27% decrease, stopping at 155,645 terminated registrations.
Analysts calculated that the net balance between business openings and closures reached 66,643 new entrepreneurs. The highest demand among citizens starting their own business remains in the retail trade sector.
Statistical registration trends
Despite September being the most productive month of the year with 27.4 thousand new private entrepreneurs, the overall growth trend compared to last year remained almost unchanged. Different patterns were observed month by month: growth in new business openings was recorded in January, March, April, and May, while numbers were slightly lower in February, June, July, August, and September compared to the same period in 2025.
It is worth noting that alongside small businesses, activity is also evident in the corporate sector. During the first half of 2026, nearly 20,000 new companies were registered, which is the best result in the last three years.
Tax obligations
Experts also point to the debt burden within the entrepreneurial environment. Currently, 1.5 million private entrepreneurs have a total debt to the state budget amounting to 16.6 billion hryvnias.
According to analysts, the average debt per entrepreneur is 11,000 hryvnias. These figures highlight complex financial discipline within the small business segment, despite the steady pace of new business ventures.
Photo: Economichna Pravda
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