Over the past 30 years, 3.3 million companies have been incorporated in Spain

According to INFORMA's study Business creation in the past 30 years presented by INFORMA, 3.3 million companies have been created in Spain over the past three decades.

Taking as a reference those incorporated specifically in 1995, 2005 and 2015, it can be seen that most have ceased trading. Of those created in 1995, 18.12% remain in operation; among those launched in 2005, 18.75% are still active; and of those started in 2015, 36.62%. For companies that have ceased trading, 86% of those incorporated in 1995 did so via official processes. This proportion falls to 80.5% among those created in 2005 and to 66.6% for those in 2015, which shows that a significant number of companies cease trading without duly notifying it.

In any of these three years, strictly insolvency-related processes (suspension of payments, bankruptcies and insolvency filings) do not exceed 0.36% of total inactivity among companies created, highlighting the limited use in Spain of this type of process compared with other forms of closure.

Nathalie Gianese, Director of Research at Informa D&B, states: “The number of incorporations in Spain has grown over the past two years to nearly 130,000 in 2025, reaching the highest figure since 2007”.

Over half of cumulative business creations are concentrated in three regions

Madrid accounts for 20.5% of incorporations recorded over the past 30 years. Catalonia follows with 19%, and Andalusia contributes 16%. These are the only regions with over 500,000 cumulative business creations.

At the other end of the scale, with a share below 1%, are Ceuta, Melilla, La Rioja and Cantabria. Navarre accounts for just over 1% of companies incorporated over these years, Extremadura 1.3% and Asturias 1.4%.

2006 was the year in which the most companies were launched, at 150,108, and 2011 saw the largest capital investment, at €21.454 billion, although it was an atypical year due to the creation of Sociedad Estatal Loterías y Apuestas del Estado SME SA. Investment in 2025 was far below this figure, and slightly down on the previous year, reaching €5.871 billion.

The trend in the number of incorporations since 1995 has been linked to the economic situation:

• Expansion (from 1995 to 2007): The number of business creations exceeded 100,000 in 11 of these 13 years.
• Financial crisis (from 2008 to 2009): A crisis period marked by a sharp fall in incorporations, representing a 47% reduction from the 2006 peak, to 79,642 business creations in 2009.
• Post-crisis (from 2010 to 2019): A slow recovery in business creation began, rising to over 100,000 in 2016, although previous levels were not regained. The figures fell again in 2017 and 2019, indicating stagnation.
• Covid-19 impact crisis: The number of business creations fell in 2020, down 16% year over year, leaving it at nearly half the level of 2006, the year with the most incorporations.
• Recovery (2021-2025): In 2021, new companies rose 28% to 102,022; in 2022 they fell below 100,000, before picking up again in 2023 and 2024, reaching a figure above 128,000 new companies in 2025.

The capital invested to create these companies since 1995 totals around €250.0 billion. While the number of incorporations tends to follow the economic cycle, investment is more volatile and depends on the activity of a small number of companies, for example in the case of corporate restructurings.

Even so, 2008 and 2009 were the years in which investment fell the most, as was also the case for business creations, and paid-up capital levels have not returned to pre-crisis levels, falling from €14.669 billion in 2007 to €5.871 billion in 2025, down 60%.