Commerce Ministry issues 71,000 commercial registrations in Q1 2026

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The Ministry of Commerce issued its quarterly business sector bulletin for Q1 2026, including an overview of the performance and developments of the business sector in the Kingdom.

The ministry revealed in its report that 71,000 commercial registrations were issued during the first quarter of the year, marking a decline of nearly 54% from 154,600 in the same period last year.

Riyadh topped all regions in terms of the number of commercial registrations issued during Q1 2026, with about 24,630, representing 35% of the total. It was followed by Makkah at 21% with 14,890, and the Eastern Province at 15% with 10,500.

Al-Qassim recorded 4,387 registrations, accounting for 6% of the total, while Asir had around 3,344 registrations, representing 5%. Other regions accounted for about 19% of the total, bringing the overall number of issued registrations to around 71,000 during the period.

The registrations issued in Q1 2026 included more than 28,810 limited liability companies, 22 limited partnerships, 8 joint-stock companies, 84 simplified joint-stock companies, and 194 general partnerships.

Total commercial registrations across all regions of the Kingdom reached more than 1.89 million, including 1.27 million sole proprietorships and 623,080 company registrations. Youth-owned establishments accounted for 55% of total active registrations, while women-owned establishments represented 47%.

Riyadh also led in total active registrations, with more than 660,420 records, representing about 35% of the total, followed by Makkah with over 389,461.