New companies and closures in Italy: Movimprese data for 2025 and 2026
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In short: according to Movimprese (Unioncamere-InfoCamere, press release of 22 October 2026), between July and September 2026 the companies registered in the Registro delle imprese were 62,788 and closures 44,385: the balance is +18,403 (+0.32%), the highest since 2021. For the whole of 2025 registrations were 323,533, closures 266,934 and the balance +56,599 (+0.96%), published on 23 January 2026. Closures are calculated net of ex officio cancellations. More than 300,000 companies are born every year: for those who sell on credit, it is important to know how to assess a client that does not yet have financial statements.
How many companies are born and how many close in Italy?
The most recent annual figure is that of 2025, released by Unioncamere and InfoCamere on 23 January 2026. The most recent quarterly figure is that of the third quarter of 2026, released on 22 October 2026.
| Period | Registrations | Closures | Balance | Growth rate | Companies registered at end of period |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 2025 | 323,533 | 266,934 | +56,599 | +0.96% (+0.62% in 2024) | 5,849,524 (31/12/2025) |
| Q1 2026 | 105,051 | 104,361 | +690 | +0.01% | 5,811,877 (31/03/2026) |
| Q2 2026 | 83,169 | 50,460 | +32,709 | +0.56% | 5,823,863 (30/06/2026) |
| Q3 2026 | 62,788 | 44,385 | +18,403 | +0.32% | 5,828,620 (30/09/2026) |
In 2025, the release explains, registrations stayed in line with 2024 and what improved above all was closures: 266,934, down 6.7% on the previous year. For the third quarter of 2026 Unioncamere reports registrations up 2.5% and closures substantially stable; the balance is up on the +16,920 of the third quarter of 2025.
The quarters have different rhythms: in the first quarter the balance is close to zero because, as Unioncamere writes, the first quarter is historically penalised by the consolidation of closures accrued at year end. Do not add quarterly balances to the stock of the previous quarter to reconstruct the stock: use the stock published in each release, calculated by the Register.
What are ex officio cancellations and why are they not in closures?
All the Movimprese data on closures are calculated net of the ex officio cancellations carried out in the period. Both the third-quarter 2026 release and the 2025 annual release state this. Ex officio cancellations, according to the InfoCamere methodological note, are those through which, since 2005, under Presidential Decree 247/2004 and circular 3585/C of the Ministry of Productive Activities, the Chambers of Commerce can cancel companies that have not been operating for at least three years.
For you this means something practical: a company can be cancelled ex officio from the Register without its closure appearing in the Movimprese mortality data. The release does not publish the number of these cancellations, so we do not report it.
Capital companies or sole proprietorships: who grows and who declines?
The difference between legal forms is the clearest part of the data. Year 2025, from the Movimprese release of 23 January 2026:
| Legal form | Registrations | Closures | Balance | Rate 2025 | Stock 31/12/2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capital companies | 117,886 | 51,008 | +66,878 | +3.48% | 1,972,157 |
| Partnerships | 16,033 | 27,552 | -11,519 | -1.39% | 802,183 |
| Sole proprietorships | 184,770 | 183,516 | +1,254 | +0.04% | 2,906,685 |
| Other forms | 4,844 | 4,858 | -14 | -0.01% | 168,499 |
| Total | 323,533 | 266,934 | +56,599 | +0.96% | 5,849,524 |
Our calculation on Movimprese 2025 data: for every 100 registrations of capital companies there were 43 closures; for every 100 registrations of sole proprietorships, 99 closures. Capital companies are 36.4% of registrations (117,886 out of 323,533) and sole proprietorships 57.1% (184,770 out of 323,533).
Third quarter 2026, same Unioncamere release:
| Legal form | Registrations | Closures | Balance | Rate Q3 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capital companies | 22,812 | 8,283 | +14,529 | +0.73% |
| Partnerships | 2,566 | 3,908 | -1,342 | -0.17% |
| Sole proprietorships | 36,392 | 31,362 | +5,030 | +0.18% |
| Other forms | 1,018 | 832 | +186 | +0.11% |
| Total | 62,788 | 44,385 | +18,403 | +0.32% |
Capital companies contribute 79% of the growth in the stock in the quarter, as Unioncamere indicates. In the first two quarters of 2026 the picture is the same: capital companies growing (+15,739 in the first, +19,861 in the second) and partnerships declining.
In which sectors are more companies born and closed?
For sectors the annual release publishes stock, balance and changes, not separate registrations and closures. Year 2025, balance of the stock (selection):
| Sector | Balance 2025 | Change % |
|---|---|---|
| Professional, scientific and technical activities | +10,087 | +3.97% |
| Construction | +9,306 | +1.12% |
| Financial and insurance activities | +8,290 | +5.89% |
| Real estate activities | +8,265 | +2.69% |
| Accommodation and food service | +7,583 | +1.66% |
| Manufacturing | -3,981 | -0.80% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | -8,068 | -1.17% |
| Trade | -9,840 | -0.72% |
In the third quarter of 2026 eighteen of the nineteen main sectors grow. Trade (+1,486 companies), agriculture (+798) and manufacturing (+123) return to positive territory, after being substantially stalled in the same quarter of 2025. The largest contributions in absolute terms come from construction (+3,435), accommodation and food service (+3,389) and professional, scientific and technical activities (+2,863). The only decline is in extractive activities: -17 companies (-0.52%).
Where more companies are born: the regions
Year 2025 (registrations, closures, balance; growth rate):
| Region | Registrations | Closures | Balance | Rate 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lombardy | 58,814 | 45,471 | +13,343 | +1.41% |
| Lazio | 35,852 | 23,593 | +12,259 | +2.07% |
| Campania | 31,131 | 23,932 | +7,199 | +1.21% |
| Sicily | 24,547 | 18,332 | +6,215 | +1.34% |
| Apulia | 20,309 | 16,017 | +4,292 | +1.15% |
| Veneto | 25,084 | 22,970 | +2,114 | +0.46% |
| Friuli-Venezia Giulia | 5,219 | 5,008 | +211 | +0.22% |
In the third quarter of 2026 Lombardy records the highest increase in absolute terms (+3,852 companies), ahead of Lazio (+3,035) and Campania (+2,632); by growth rate, Aosta Valley (+0.55%), Lazio (+0.51%) and Campania (+0.46%) stand out. All four macro-areas are positive: South +6,521, North-West +4,979, Centre +4,114 and North-East +2,789. Among the provinces, the largest balance is that of Rome (+2,521), followed by Milan (+1,981) and Naples (+1,448).
What it means for those who sell on credit
A cautious reading: statistics describe the system, not your client.
- There are always new companies. In 2025 registrations were 323,533; in the third quarter of 2026 alone, 62,788. New clients or recent suppliers are the norm, not the exception.
- Birth does not tell you duration. In 2025 sole proprietorships had almost as many entries as exits (184,770 registrations, 183,516 closures): the balance is +0.04%. For capital companies closures are far fewer than registrations, but this is an aggregate figure and not a prediction about a single client.
- Closures do not coincide with crises. A closure can depend on many causes, and the statistics do not distinguish them. Do not read a closure as an insolvency. For actual insolvency proceedings, see the bankruptcy and liquidation observatory.
- The sector changes the context. In 2025 trade, agriculture and manufacturing lost companies, while professional, financial and real estate activities gained them: these are useful data for understanding your client's market, not for judging the client.
How do you assess a company that has just been born, without financial statements?
A company that has just been registered has no filed financial statements to read yet. So you look at other things:
- Who is behind it. Partners, directors and beneficial owner: if they have already had other companies, check how those went. The Verification report brings them together.
- Protests and insolvency signals on the company and on those who run it, with source and date.
- A limited credit line at the start. Grow in steps, based on how it pays. The method is in how much credit to grant a new client with no credit history.
- Tools alternative to financial statements. How to assess a new supplier without filed financial statements lists what to check when the financial statements are missing.
- Existence and activity. See how to verify whether a company exists and is active before the first invoice.
For a comparison with the sector and to understand which guarantees to ask for, see also assessing the creditworthiness of a new B2B client before granting instalments.
How to read these data
- Registrations and closures. These are the flows of companies registered and closed in the Registro delle imprese of the Chambers of Commerce in the period. The balance is the difference between the two. The growth rate relates the balance to the stock.
- Closures net of ex officio cancellations. See above: ex officio cancellations are not included.
- Different stocks. The stock of registered companies is the one published in each release, at the date indicated. It is not the sum of the balances.
- Quarter and year. The first quarter is by nature the weakest, because it consolidates the year-end closures: compare each quarter with the same quarter of the previous year, as the release does.
- Sectors. In the annual release sectors are reported with stock, balance and percentage change; in the quarterly release, by sector, there is the stock, the balance and the quarterly change.
When will the next data be published?
Unioncamere releases are quarterly and annual, and the full data are at infocamere.it/movimprese. The releases consulted do not state the date of the next publication.
For accountants. For clients who sell to newly formed companies, or for newly incorporated companies you assist, you can use Veryfy without a subscription and without registration: you pay for the single check, for example the Verification report at 19€ on your assisted party's new client, with beneficial owner, partners and directors and protests.
Sources
- Unioncamere, press release "Companies, in the third quarter balance at +18,403: the highest since 2021", 22 October 2026 (accessed 11/11/2026)
- Unioncamere-InfoCamere, Movimprese Q3 2026, press release with tables (22 October 2026) (accessed 11/11/2026)
- InfoCamere-Unioncamere, Movimprese, Birth and death of Italian companies, year 2025 (23 January 2026) (accessed 11/11/2026)
- Unioncamere-InfoCamere, Movimprese Q2 2026 (23 July 2026) (accessed 11/11/2026)
- Unioncamere-InfoCamere, Movimprese Q1 2026 (22 April 2026) (accessed 11/11/2026)
Veryfy is not affiliated with Unioncamere, InfoCamere or the Chambers of Commerce.
Frequently asked questions
How many companies were born and how many closed in Italy in 2025?
According to Movimprese (Unioncamere-InfoCamere, 23 January 2026), in 2025 registrations were 323,533 and closures 266,934, with a balance of +56,599 and a growth rate of +0.96%. Closures are net of ex officio cancellations. At the end of 2025 registered companies were 5,849,524.
How did the third quarter of 2026 go for new companies?
Between July and September 2026 registrations were 62,788 (+2.5%), closures 44,385 (stable, net of ex officio cancellations) and the balance +18,403 (+0.32%), the highest since 2021. At the end of September registered companies stand at 5,828,620 (Unioncamere, 22 October 2026).
Do capital companies or sole proprietorships grow more?
Capital companies. In 2025 the balance is +66,878 (+3.48%) against +1,254 (+0.04%) for sole proprietorships; partnerships fall by 11,519 (-1.39%). In the third quarter of 2026 capital companies contribute 79% of the growth in the stock.
What are ex officio cancellations and are they included in closures?
They are cancellations through which, since 2005, the Chambers of Commerce can remove from the Register companies that have not been operating for at least three years (Presidential Decree 247/2004). Movimprese closure data are calculated net of these cancellations.
How do I assess a client or supplier that has just been born, without financial statements?
Check who is behind it (partners, directors, beneficial owner), protests and insolvency signals, and start with a limited credit line to be increased based on how it pays. The Veryfy Verification report costs 19€ and combines these checks; no subscription and no registration.
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