The number of legal entities shut down in Azerbaijan rose by 483 to 1,032 in January-September 2026, the State Statistics Committee reported. Over the same period, new business registrations fell by 7.4%.
The number of liquidated businesses in Azerbaijan has jumped sharply this year, according to the State Statistics Committee. In the first nine months of 2026, the number of liquidated statistical units climbed to 1,032 from 549 in the same period last year, an increase of 88%.
Municipal-owned entities accounted for most of the closures. While only 95 municipal structures were liquidated in the first nine months of 2025, that figure surged to 633 this year, a category that also includes municipalities themselves being dissolved.
The private sector showed the opposite trend. The number of private companies that ceased operations fell to 254 this year, down from 296 in the same period last year.
New business registrations decline
A total of 10,247 new statistical units were registered in the country during the reporting period, down 820, or 7.4%, from 11,067 in the same period of the previous year. The vast majority of newly created entities, 10,167 in total, were privately owned. Of these, 1,046 were registered with foreign capital only, while 119 were set up as joint ventures.
By October 1, the end of the reporting period, the total number of statistical units registered in the country had risen to 235,858. That compares with 223,223 on the same date last year, an increase of 12,635 units, or 5.7%, over the year. The figures do not include individual entrepreneurs.
