Slight Growth in the Number of Firms in 2022

The number of firms continued to grow slightly in 2022, despite the fact that the number of firms that ceased to exist increased by approximately 50% compared to the previous year, the company information service OPTEN told the state news agency MTI on Tuesday.

Opten's Company Fluctuation Index (CFI) – which compares the number of firms that were dissolved and founded during a given period to the number of firms that were operating normally at the beginning of the period – was 12.3% for 2022, 1% higher than in 2021.

The index was lowest in Tolna, Vas and Zala counties and highest in the city of Budapest as well as in Heves and Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok counties, the company information service said.

Approximately 30,000 new businesses were created last year. The steady downward trend in the number of operating firms turned to growth in 2021, reaching around 2% in 2022, OPTEN said.

According to the statement, September 2022 saw the highest number of new firms in the last five years. This is likely to be due to businesses adapting to the changed ‘kata’ [small business corporate tax] rules.

Opten explained that there was a significant change in the increase in the number of dissolved firms compared to the previous year, with their number rising by approximately 50%. While the increase in the number of closures compared to 2021 has been outstanding, it is still below the pre-Covid levels.

Of the forms of dissolution, compulsory liquidation was the dominant one in 2022, similar to the pre pandemic period, with a 44% share, but liquidation was also common, the statement said.

Last year, the number of new business court proceedings approached 100,000, which was typically above 100,000 in the pre-pandemic period, they pointed out.