Openness vs. Closure: What the Trends in Ukraine’s Business Development in 2025 Revealed
26 January 18:37
For Ukrainian businesses, 2025 was a year of cautious adaptation. The number of new companies grew throughout the year and exceeded the figures for 2024; however, the number of businesses ceasing operations also increased.
This is evidenced by data from YC.Market, reports "Komersant Ukrainian".
Entrepreneurial activity is concentrated in major economic centers, and the business landscape is shifting under the influence of the war, logistics, and labor constraints.
In 2025, 28,913 companies were registered in Ukraine. The trend throughout the year was upward:
- Q1 — 6,572 registrations
- Q2 — 7,183
- Q3 — 7,596 (peak)
- Q4 — nearly at the Q3 level
More than half of the new companies were registered in the second half of the year. This indicates a cautious recovery in entrepreneurial activity, despite military risks and unstable demand.
Far from pre-war levels, but faster than in 2024
A comparison with 2021 shows that business registration rates remain 25–30% below pre-war levels. Back then, about 10,000 companies were registered quarterly; in 2025, the figure was 6,600–7,600.
However, compared to 2024, the situation looks more optimistic:
- Q2 2025 — 11.8% compared to 2024,
- Q3 — 14.5%,
- Q4 — 24.6%.
This means that businesses were entering the market more actively specifically at the end of the year.
In 2025, 2,871 companies ceased operations. The number of closures grew gradually:
- from 621 in Q1
- to 812 in Q4.
Analysts attribute the year-end spike to several factors:
- the implementation of postponed liquidation decisions,
- increased workload due to massive cyberattacks and power outages,
- administrative disruptions in registry operations at the end of 2024.
Fewer liquidations than in 2021
Despite the war, the number of business closures in 2025 is nearly half that of pre-war 2021—in every quarter.
This may indicate not only the resilience of some businesses but also a shift in entrepreneurs’ behavior:
some companies remain in a “frozen” state or postpone formal closure due to uncertainty and relocation.
Kyiv remains the leader in business start-ups, with 10,401 new companies. Next:
- Lviv Oblast—2,504,
- Dnipropetrovsk Oblast — 2,320,
- Kyiv Oblast — 1,912,
- Odesa — 1,869.
The fewest registrations were in the Kherson, Chernihiv, Sumy, and border regions, which is explained by security risks.
The highest number of business closures was recorded in the same regions as the highest number of new business openings:
- Kyiv,
- Dnipropetrovsk,
- Lviv regions.
Experts note: this is more a sign of business turnover in active regions than an exclusively negative signal.
Which sectors grew the fastest
- Wholesale trade — 3,563
- Information technology — 3,163
- Real estate — 2,664
- Transportation and logistics — 2,274
- Construction — 2,180
