In the second quarter of 2026, 80,566 businesses were registered in Poland, 9.2 per cent fewer than a year earlier. The declines affected all major sectors of the economy, with industry and trade being hit hardest. The largest number of new businesses continued to be established in services, construction and trade.
However, the data do not indicate a sudden wave of insolvencies. The Central Statistical Office ( GUS) recorded 94 bankruptcies, compared with 90 a year earlier. Taking the first two quarters together, the number of registrations fell by around 3.6 per cent year-on-year, whilst insolvencies rose by around 6.3 per cent. This is more a sign of a weaker propensity to set up businesses than of a collapse of existing firms. In the first quarter, the Central Statistical Office (GUS) still recorded a 2 per cent increase in the number of business registrations.
This is all the more evident given that the macroeconomic environment is not in recession. Poland’s GDP grew by 3.5 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter, inflation stood at 2.5 per cent in June, and the GUS’s July survey indicated stabilisation or an improvement in business conditions across all sectors analysed.
Limited liability companies (spółki z o.o.) and distributed energy represent an interesting exception. The number of new limited liability companies rose by 9.2 per cent, and of the 129 new cooperatives, as many as 112 were energy cooperatives. According to the Ministry of Climate and Environment, as at 9 June there were 738 such cooperatives operating in Poland, with a combined capacity of 453 MW.
If the decline in registrations continues, it could mean weaker competition, fewer new jobs and slower investment. At the same time, the growth in more formalised companies and energy entities may indicate a shift in activity towards models requiring greater scale, funding and technology.
