In the first half of this year, the number of start-up corporations fell to about 560,000. The slump was due to everyday-life sectors such as wholesale and retail, and transportation and warehousing. Technology-based start-ups, led by information and communications, posted a double-digit growth rate, showing a clear divergence by industry.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced the "first-half 2026 start-up corporations trends" on the 27th.
From January to June this year, start-up corporations numbered 565,640, down 1.5% (8,880) from the same period a year earlier. The number of first-half start-up corporations fell from 695,891 in 2022 to 650,504 in 2023, 622,760 in 2024, and 574,520 last year, and continued to decline this year.
By industry, wholesale and retail start-ups fell 10.7% from a year earlier, the largest drop. Transportation and warehousing declined 5.8%, and personal services fell 3.8%.
Information and communications start-ups surged 59.4%. Professional, scientific and technical services and educational services also increased 6.9% and 4.4%, respectively, with start-ups active in knowledge-based services. Technology-based start-ups, including manufacturing and knowledge-based services, totaled 123,418, up 14.2% (15,333) from a year earlier. The share of technology-based start-ups in all start-ups also rose 3.0 percentage points, from 18.8% to 21.8%.
By month, start-up corporations in January totaled 105,097, up 18.7% from a year earlier, and March rose 2.8% to 103,433. In contrast, February fell 14.2% to 83,406. April, May and June also decreased 3.5%, 10.8% and 1.0%, respectively.
By age, only start-ups by those 60 and older increased, by 2.4%. Those under 30 fell 3.9%, those in their 30s fell 2.3%, those in their 40s fell 3.2%, and those in their 50s fell 0.8%.