Almost every third sole proprietor in Ukraine works in retail

As of the beginning of September 2026, 659.1 thousand sole proprietors work in the retail trade sector in Ukraine. This is almost every third entrepreneur in the country. After a decline in 2025, the number of businesses in retail has started growing again.

This is evidenced by data from the Unified State Register, analyzed by Opendatabot.

In the first eight months of 2026, 8,196 more sole proprietors opened in the retail trade sector than closed. Thus, retail returned to net growth after last year's decline.

At the same time, the dynamics of recent years have been unstable. In the full years of 2021, 2022, and 2025, more entrepreneurs closed than registered in retail trade. The largest decline occurred in 2022 - then the number of closures exceeded the number of openings by almost 25 thousand.

A third of entrepreneurs trade in non-specialized stores

The largest group of sole proprietors in retail works in non-specialized stores - about 208 thousand entrepreneurs, or 32% of the total.

Another 159.9 thousand sole proprietors, or 24%, engage in trade at markets and from stalls. About 107.4 thousand entrepreneurs - 16% - work outside stores, including via the internet.

In specialized stores, 82.8 thousand sole proprietors trade in various goods. Another 47.6 thousand entrepreneurs specialize in the sale of food, beverages, and tobacco products.

The largest number of sole proprietors in retail - in Dnipropetrovsk region

The leader in the number of entrepreneurs in retail trade was Dnipropetrovsk region, where 46.4 thousand sole proprietors work.

In second place is Odesa region - 44.5 thousand entrepreneurs. Next are Kyiv with 43.9 thousand sole proprietors, Lviv region - 40.7 thousand, and Kharkiv region - 40.6 thousand.

Based on materials from: Opendatabot