A total of 29,384 companies were started in Sweden during the first half of 2024. This represents a decrease of nine percent compared to the same period in 2023, according to statistics from the Swedish Companies Registration Office compiled by the accounting firm Visma.
The largest decline occurred in the counties of Uppsala and Kronoberg, where the number of new companies decreased by 24 and 23 percent, respectively. The only county that bucked the trend was Västerbotten, which showed an increase of one percent.
Looking further back, one can see that the decline in the number of new companies has been steady since the record year of 2021, when 40,108 companies were started during the first half of the year. The decline compared to 2021 is 27 percent.
According to Visma, the uncertain global situation is a factor in the decline.
"It is very serious that entrepreneurship continues to decline, since four out of five jobs are created in small and medium-sized companies. In low-growth Sweden, more companies need to be started, not fewer," says Boo Gunnarson, entrepreneurship expert at Visma.
