During the past year, 100,197 companies were incorporated in Spain, a decrease of 1.9 % compared to 2021 (102,135 incorporated), although in the fourth quarter in the Canary Islands they increased by 11.4 %, according to data from the Association of Registrars of Spain.
As regards the fourth quarter of 2022, 24,442 mercantile companies were incorporated in Spain, 1.4 % more than in the same period of the previous year.
In the case of December, 8,454 companies were created, 0.8% less than in the same month of 2021, and Madrid and Catalonia together constituted four out of every ten companies created.
According to the registrars, the number of operations in the last twelve months once again exceeded 100,000, which has been the norm in recent quarters, with the exception of the third quarter of 2022, when 99,862 companies were incorporated.
By autonomous regions, in the fourth quarter the creation of mercantile companies increased most in the Basque Country (11.6 %), the Canary Islands (11.4 %), and in the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla (10.9 %). In contrast, the largest adjustments occurred in Asturias (15.8 %), Navarre (-14.7 %) and Cantabria (-8 %).
By branch of activity, the largest increases in companies in the fourth quarter were in health and social, artistic and recreational activities (64.7 %) and in the supply of electricity, gas, water and sanitation (11 %).
Among the biggest falls in new companies were in transport and storage (-16.4 %), education (-16.2 %) and trade (-6.2 %).
