Nearly 20,000 new companies were established in Ukraine over the past six months
In the first six months of 2026, nearly 20,000 new companies were registered in Ukraine—the highest figure in the last three years. At the same time, the number of companies that closed also increased, but significantly more new businesses are still being launched.
In the first half of 2026, 19,758 new legal entities were registered in Ukraine. This is 8% more than during the same period last year and the best result in the last three years. For comparison, 18,277 companies were established in the country during the first half of 2025, and 18,414 in 2024.
At the same time, the number of businesses that ceased operations also increased. In the first six months of this year, 6,563 enterprises closed, which is 28% more than last year. The report notes that more than half of the companies were liquidated. Another fifth or so ceased operations due to reorganization, and roughly one in ten enterprises closed as a result of bankruptcy.
Despite this, the overall trend remains positive. Over the past six months, Ukraine gained 13,195 more companies than there were at the beginning of the year. The most active sector for new business startups was wholesale trade, where over 2,300 new companies were established. Significant growth was also recorded in the fields of information technology, real estate transactions, the activities of public organizations, and residential property management.
At the same time, a decline in the number of companies was observed in public administration and defense, education, veterinary services, water supply, and the arts. The largest number of new companies was registered in Kyiv—over 5,300. The Lviv and Dnipropetrovsk regions also made it into the top three.
Overall, an increase in the number of businesses was recorded in 23 regions of Ukraine. The largest decline occurred in the frontline Donetsk and Luhansk regions. As a reminder, in early July, a petition was posted on the Cabinet of Ministers’ website proposing the introduction of a four-day workweek in Ukraine.
Its authors propose amending the Labor Code and gradually transitioning to a 32-hour workweek while maintaining current wages. Initially, they propose testing the reform as a pilot project in select government agencies and private companies, and subsequently expanding it to all enterprises nationwide. This was reported by OpenDataBot.
As a reminder, over the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian Armed Forces eliminated 1,590 Russian soldiers. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine released updated data on Russian military losses in the war against Ukraine as of July 27, 2026.
On the night of July 26, Russian troops carried out a combined attack on Ukraine, using ballistic missiles, a guided air-to-ground missile, and attack drones. Air defense forces destroyed one X-59/69 guided air-to-ground missile, five of seven “Iskander-M”/S-400 ballistic missiles, and 104 enemy drones.
