Trends in ukrainian sole proprietorships during the full-scale war

763,759 new sole proprietorships have been registered in Ukraine since the start of the full-scale war. Meanwhile, 684,995 entrepreneurs have closed their businesses over the past three years.

Follow the dynamics of small and medium-sized businesses in Ukraine on the page about Sole Proprietorships.

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Sole proprietorships during the full-scale war

Month	April 2022	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December	January 2023	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December	January 2024	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December	January 2025	February
Open	1,946	12,626	15,408	17,950	19,085	20,108	20,136	17,324	15,934	11,951	16,931	16,440	22,040	21,481	25,623	31,477	28,682	30,847	35,587	33,273	26,084	16,309	25,417	24,301	24,332	26,824	25,095	22,141	25,268	26,073	28,071	27,258	21,514	8,865	21,358
Closed	-5,136	-10,204	-13,064	-12,997	-14,175	-16,597	-15,858	-16,156	-15,004	-12,843	-17,461	-16,579	-17,725	-20,668	-20,006	-21,464	-20,930	-22,961	-24,167	-23,859	-22,036	-6,628	-22,091	-25,784	-28,690	-23,476	-18,429	-17,479	-19,194	-14,467	-21,874	-23,960	-19,511	-22,067	-61,455

Overall, most entrepreneurs who started their businesses after the full-scale war chose retail trade as their primary activity—28.1% or 214.2 thousand entrepreneurs. The top three also include IT—9.1% (69.5 thousand) and wholesale trade—7.2% (54.6 thousand). Notably, before the full-scale invasion, nearly twice as many new IT sole proprietorships were registered per month.

Compared to the period before the full-scale invasion, the number of new businesses in postal and courier services has tripled. The number of new sole proprietorships in education has increased 2.6 times, while those in the financial sector have grown 2.5 times.

At the same time, fewer businesses are being started in the IT sector and motorcycle/automobile trade.

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The full-scale war and mobilization have significantly impacted the gender distribution of entrepreneurs. In January 2022, women opened every second new sole proprietorship, but now their share has risen to 61%. The highest percentage of female entrepreneurs among new businesses is in Khmelnytskyi region — 60.5%, Kirovohrad region — 60.1%, Poltava region — 59.4%.

Women are more likely to start businesses in services, education, and clothing manufacturing, while men dominate in construction, transport, and logistics.

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What gender are the new fops

Year	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Women	93,632	166,763	162,411	146,315	145,749	95,140	174,916	173,365
Men	104,744	161,164	163,868	139,633	138,422	102,871	129,858	111,794

The highest number of new sole proprietorships (FOPs) during the full-scale war was registered in Kyiv — 108,536, Dnipropetrovsk region — 68,377, Lviv region — 60,009.

The frontline has shifted the regions where businesses feel comfortable operating. In areas close to active combat, business registrations have significantly dropped Luhansk region — −85%, Kherson region — −67%, Donetsk region — −60% (January 2025 vs. January 2022).

At the same time, new business registrations have increased in Rivne region — +25%, Ivano-Frankivsk region — +10%, Chernihiv region — +10%.

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Despite the risks of war, Ukraine’s FOP economy (self-employment and small businesses) kept breaking records. Since business registries resumed in March 2022, more FOPs were opening than closing every month.

However, by late 2024, the trend reversed, likely due to higher tax burdens on entrepreneurs.

The worst decline was recorded in January 2025: after nearly a month-long pause in registry operations, 61,455 FOPs closed in just a few weeks, while only 21,358 new businesses were registered.

Over nearly three years of full-scale war, FOPs paid 126 billion UAH in taxes. The amount of the unified tax paid by entrepreneurs has grown year by year (except for 2022). In 2023, tax revenues were 1.6 times higher than in 2021: 55.1 billion UAH vs. 34.8 billion UAH.

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Tax fees of FOPs

Year	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Single tax, UAH billion	1	3.6	4.9	5.4	6.7	10.3	15.5	19.9	25	27.6	34.8	32.9	38	55.2