At the beginning of 2022, there were 414,705 registered business entities in the Republic of Serbia, of which 124,260 were active companies and 290,445 were sole proprietors. Compared to the beginning of 2021, the overall number of business entities increased by 14,059, i.e. by 2,570 companies and 11,489 sole proprietors.
In 2021, 9,635 companies were established, 459 more than in 2020, and 478 more than in 2019.
Additionally, 34,378 sole proprietors were established, 4,568 more than in 2020, but 2,782 fewer than in 2019, i.e. the ‘pre-Covid year’, when 37,160 sole proprietors were established.
Out of a total of 44,013 business entities established last year, 8.14%, or 3,584 entities, were established through the e-registration procedure.
The TOP 10 core business activities of the newly established companies are: 'Restaurants and mobile food service activities', 'Business and other management consultancy activities', 'Freight transport by road', 'Hairdressing and other beauty treatment', 'Maintenance and repair of motor vehicles', 'Computer programming activities', 'Beverage serving activities', 'Engineering activities and related technical consultancy', 'Other specialised construction activities', and 'Floor and wall covering'.
The TOP 10 core business activities of the newly established sole proprietors are: 'Non-specialized wholesale trade', 'Construction of residential and non-residential buildings', 'Computer programming activities', 'Business and other management consultancy activities', 'Freight transport by road', 'Restaurants and mobile food service activities', 'Retail sale via mail order houses or via Internet', 'Engineering activities and related technical consultancy', 'Rental and operating of own or leased real estate', and 'Computer consultancy activities'.
In 2021, 7,046 companies were struck off the Business Entities Register, 936 fewer than in 2020. To properly understand the comparative data on the struck-off companies in 2019, it is important to remind of the following: out of the total number of companies that were struck off that year (27,163), 24,380 companies were removed from the Register ex officio, upon the completion of the forced liquidation proceedings initiated either because they that did not file their financial statements for two consecutive years or due to any other reasons for the instigation of the forced liquidation proceedings stipulated by the Company Law. That year (2019), the forced liquidation proceedings were conducted by the SBRA for the first time, which resulted in a substantial increase in the number of struck-off entities compared to all previous and subsequent years. This is why these data are not comparable.
Additionally, 22,934 sole proprietors were removed from the Register, 882 fewer than in 2020, and 659 fewer than in 2019.
The TOP 10 core business activities of the struck-off companies are: 'Non-specialized wholesale trade', 'Business and other management consultancy activities', 'Restaurants and mobile food service activities', 'Construction of residential and non-residential buildings', 'Freight transport by road', 'Computer programming activities', 'Retail sale in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating', 'Sale of cars and light motor vehicles', 'Advertising agencies', and 'Other retail sale in non-specialised stores'.
The TOP 10 core business activities of the struck-off sole proprietors are: 'Restaurants and mobile food service activities', 'Beverage serving activities', 'Computer programming activities', 'Hairdressing and other beauty treatment', 'Taxi operation', 'Business and other management consultancy activities', 'Retail sale in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating', 'Freight transport by road', 'Maintenance and repair of motor vehicles', and 'Manufacture of bread; manufacture of fresh pastry goods and cakes'.