The state of Ukrainian business in 2025
In 2025, the Ukrainian business landscape suffered significant losses, losing 250,209 individual entrepreneurs. The largest closures occurred in January, when 59,723 entrepreneurs closed their businesses. The average age of a Ukrainian individual entrepreneur is 2 years and 4 months, indicating the short-term nature of many businesses.
Geographic and sectoral losses
Geographically, the most closures were recorded in Kyiv, where there were 32,469 closures, making the capital a leader in this indicator. Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv regions also suffered significant losses with 22,645 and 20,481 closures respectively. Odesa and Lviv regions complete the list with 18,714 and 16,521 closures respectively.
By sector, the greatest vulnerability is observed in retail, where 77,705 entrepreneurs closed down. Wholesale trade experienced nearly 17 thousand closures, while the IT industry lost 28,668 entrepreneurs. The least vulnerability is seen in warehousing, where the average lifespan of a business exceeds 6 years. For couriers, administrative activities, and education, lifespans are significantly shorter: 6 months, 9 months, and just over a year respectively.
This situation underscores the difficulties of doing business in Ukraine, where economic conditions and competition lead to a decrease in the number of individual entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs who closed their businesses felt the full brunt of the challenges arising in modern business conditions.
The decline in the number of individual entrepreneurs in Ukraine indicates serious challenges faced by the business environment in the country. The short-term nature of many businesses and the high vulnerability of certain sectors highlight the need for reforms and support from the state to improve business conditions. It is crucial to focus on creating a stable environment for entrepreneurship development, which could lead to increased business longevity and overall economic growth in Ukraine.