Commerce Ministry issues 50,000 registrations in Q3 2026

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Commerce issued 50,000 commercial registers in Q3 2026, down 61% from 128,000 in Q3 2025, the ministry’s quarterly bulletin on the local business sector showed.

About 15,400 of the total commercial registers in Q3 2026 were issued for limited liability companies, followed by simplified joint-stock companies (124), joint stock companies (19), general partnerships (11), and limited partnerships (6).

Riyadh accounted for the largest share in Q3 2026, with over 18,000 commercial registers, representing 26%of the total. Makkah ranked second with approximately 11,300 registrations, or 23%, followed by the Eastern Province, which accounted for 14% with more than 7,100 registrations.

Asir and Qassim recorded around 2,620 registers and 2,430 registers, respectively, representing 5% of the total. The remaining regions made up about 17%.

The total number of active commercial registrations across Saudi Arabia exceeded 1.91 million, comprising 1.26 million sole establishments and 646,000 companies. Youth-owned establishments accounted for 58% of all active registrations, while women-owned establishments represented 48%.

Riyadh recorded the highest number of active commercial registrations, with more than 663,000, accounting for around 35% of the total, followed by Makkah with nearly 395,000 registrations.