Ukrainian business under pressure: record closures of individual entrepreneurs in 2024

A record number of closures of individual entrepreneurs (IEOs) were registered in Ukraine in 2024. Almost 210 thousand IEOs were closed during the year, which was the highest figure in the last five years. The retail and IT sectors were particularly affected.

According to the YouControl analytical system, the increase in IEO closures in 2024 reached more than 32% compared to last year. At the same time, the number of new registrations of IEOs decreased by 5% compared to 2023.

The focus of IEO closures was the autumn months, culminating in October with an indicator of more than 23.7 thousand closures. In December, more than 22 thousand closures were registered, but the data for December only covers the period until the 18th.

The peak day of business closures fell on September 30, 2024, when 2.9 thousand sole proprietorships were closed (which is 1.4% of all closures for the year). The largest days were also November 29 (over 2.3 thousand, 1.1%) and December 18 (also over 2.3 thousand, 1.1%).

Along with this, entrepreneurs still continue to open new businesses. The most active days were October 1 (1.8 thousand, 0.6%), April 29 (1.7 thousand, 0.6%) and August 28 (1.7 thousand, 0.6%).

The greatest business activity among sole proprietorships remains in Kyiv. The capital opened and closed almost 40 thousand sole proprietorships each. At the same time, an increase in closures was noted in Poltava (+57.2%), Kirovohrad (+55%) and Vinnytsia (+45%) regions.