In the first quarter of 2026, 11,000 more individual entrepreneurs opened in Ukraine than closed
In total, 63,920 Ukrainians started their business from January to March, while 52,623 entrepreneurs ceased their activities.
In total, 63,920 Ukrainians started their business from January to March, while 52,623 entrepreneurs ceased their activities.
According to the results of the first quarter of 2026, the positive dynamics of small business development in Ukraine continues. According to the Opendatabot study, a total of 63,920 Ukrainians started their business from January to March, while 52,623 entrepreneurs ceased their activities. Thus, the number of newly created individual entrepreneurs (IEOs) exceeded the number of closed ones by 11,297.
The largest increase in individual entrepreneurs was recorded in the field of retail trade outside stores, in particular through social networks, marketplaces and messengers, where 2,527 new cases were added. Positive dynamics are also demonstrated by the education sector with an increase of 1,899 entrepreneurs, the consulting sector, where 1,230 new businesses appeared, the provision of other information services, which increased by 1,033 individual entrepreneurs, and real estate leasing with a plus of 862 cases.
The largest decline was recorded in trade in markets and stalls, where 2,531 more individual entrepreneurs closed than opened. The number of non-specialized stores also decreased significantly, with 1,062 fewer. In addition to trade, negative dynamics were shown by the sectors of household goods repair with a decrease of 291 cases, freight transportation, which lost 126 entrepreneurs, and television broadcasting, which decreased by 125 individual entrepreneurs.
The geography of new business openings clearly reflects the security situation in the country, as business continues to concentrate in the central and western regions. The undisputed leader in the growth of new entrepreneurs was the capital, where their number increased by 1,826. The top five most attractive regions for starting a business also included Lviv region with an indicator of 1,651 new individual entrepreneurs, Dnipropetrovsk region, where 1,450 cases were added, as well as Kyiv and Odesa regions with an increase of 1,159 and 775 entrepreneurs, respectively.
At the same time, the worst situation is observed in the frontline and partially occupied regions, which small businesses are forced to leave. The number of closed individual entrepreneurs significantly exceeded the number of new ones in the Donetsk region, where a reduction of 479 cases was recorded. A similar negative trend persists in the Kherson region with a minus of 224 individual entrepreneurs, Sumy region, which lost 204 entrepreneurs, as well as in Zaporizhia and Luhansk regions, where 97 and 56 more cases were closed than opened.
Earlier, Prime Minister Yulia Svirydenko stated that after consultations with the International Monetary Fund, VAT for individual entrepreneurs will not be introduced for the time being.
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