Bulgaria had 7,968 new firms registered in the third quarter of 2026, 31% fewer than in the same quarter of 2025, the National Statistical Institute said. In all, 791 firms went bankrupt or entered insolvency proceedings, 22.1% fewer than a year earlier. The figure includes firms declared insolvent.

New registrations fell 29.7% from the second quarter of 2026, and bankruptcies fell 18.1%. In that quarter, 11,334 new firms were registered and 966 entered insolvency proceedings.

In the second quarter, the number of new firms was down 9.2% on the year, and bankruptcies were down 17.7%. Compared with the first quarter of 2026, there were 8.9% fewer new firms and 5.9% fewer bankruptcies.

Firms in the trade and car and motorcycle repair sector make up the biggest share of both new registrations and insolvencies. They account for 84.4% of new firms in the third quarter and 90% of those declared insolvent.