Nearly one-third of Ukrainian sole proprietorships operate in the retail sector
As of early September 2026, there were 659,090 sole proprietors operating in the retail sector in Ukraine. This represents nearly one-third of all sole proprietors in the country, according to OpenDataBot.
After a decline in 2025, the number of entrepreneurs in retail began to grow again. In the first eight months of 2026, 8,196 more sole proprietorships were established in the sector than ceased operations.
At the same time, the trend was unstable in previous years. In 2021, 2022, and 2025, more retail entrepreneurs closed their businesses than were registered.
The largest decline was recorded in 2022. At that time, the number of sole proprietorships that closed in the sector exceeded the number of new registrations by nearly 25,000.
The largest share of entrepreneurs works in non-specialized stores. There are about 208,000 such sole proprietorships, or 32% of all entrepreneurs in the retail sector.
Another 159,900 sole proprietorships, or 24%, sell goods at markets and from stalls.
107,400 entrepreneurs, or 16%, engage in retail trade outside of stores. This category includes, in particular, online sales.
Another 82,800 sole proprietors sell various goods in specialty stores.
47,600 entrepreneurs sell food, beverages, and tobacco products at specialized retail outlets.
The Dnipropetrovsk region leads in the number of entrepreneurs in the retail sector. There are 46,400 such sole proprietors registered there.
The Odesa region ranks second with 44,500 entrepreneurs. In Kyiv, 43,900 sole proprietors operate in the retail sector.
The top five regions with the highest number of entrepreneurs also include Lviv Oblast—40,700—and Kharkiv Oblast—40,600.
Source: OpenDataBot
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