In the first quarter of 2026, 89,004 enterprises were registered in Poland, 2% more than a year earlier. At the same time, the number of bankruptcies rose to 108, compared with 100 in the corresponding period of 2025, according to data from Statistics Poland. Most new companies were established in services, construction, and trade.
Statistics Poland data show that the beginning of 2026 brought a moderate increase in entrepreneurial activity. In the first three months of the year, the number of company registrations reached 89,004, compared with 87,250 in Q1 2025. This represents a 2% year-on-year increase. It was also the highest quarterly result among the periods presented for 2025 and the beginning of 2026.
The largest share of new registrations came from the services sector. A total of 22,211 entities were registered in this category, accounting for one quarter of all new registrations. Construction ranked second, with 16,798 new entities, followed by trade and repair of motor vehicles, where 11,464 companies were registered.
In annual terms, the strongest growth in registrations was recorded in transport and storage. In this section, 6,289 new enterprises were established, compared with 5,638 a year earlier, representing an increase of 11.6%. A clear rise was also visible in information and communication, where the number of registrations increased from 6,998 to 7,422, up 6.1%.
Weaker figures were recorded in trade and construction. In trade and repair of motor vehicles, the number of registrations fell by 2.4% year on year. In construction, the decline was marginal, at 0.1%. Despite this, construction remained the second-largest category in terms of the number of newly registered enterprises.
The structure of registrations continues to show the dominance of sole proprietorships. Natural persons conducting business activity accounted for 81.3% of all registrations. In Q1 2026, 72,375 such entities were registered, 0.7% more than a year earlier.
The second most important legal form was the limited liability company. In Q1 2026, 14,781 limited liability companies were registered, compared with 13,476 a year earlier. This represents an increase of 9.7%. Limited liability companies accounted for 16.6% of all new business registrations.
A sharp increase in the number of cooperative registrations also deserves attention. In Q1 2026, 179 cooperatives were registered, compared with 38 a year earlier. Statistics Poland notes that 166 of them were energy cooperatives, whose activities focus on the generation, storage and trading of electricity or heat from renewable energy sources.
At the same time, the number of corporate bankruptcies increased. In Q1 2026, courts declared 108 companies bankrupt, 8 more than a year earlier. In the previous quarters of 2025, the number of bankruptcies stood at 100 in Q1, 90 in Q2, 101 in Q3 and 102 in Q4.
The highest number of bankruptcies was recorded in industry, where 33 enterprises failed. There were 27 bankruptcies in trade and repair of motor vehicles, 13 in transport and storage, and also 13 in construction. In services, the number of bankruptcies stood at 12.
Compared with Q1 2025, the increase in bankruptcies occurred mainly in trade, where there were 5 more cases, and in construction, where the number rose by 4. In accommodation and food service activities, bankruptcies increased by 3, while in transport and storage they rose by 1. Declines were recorded in services and industry.
By legal form, most bankruptcies concerned limited liability companies. In Q1 2026, there were 78 such cases, the same number as a year earlier. An increase was visible, however, among natural persons conducting business activity, where the number of bankruptcies rose from 6 to 12. More bankruptcies were also recorded among joint-stock companies and limited partnerships.
Source: Statistics Poland.
