Lisbon, July 8, 2026 (Lusa) - The number of new businesses set up in Portugal fell by 4.1% in the first half of 2026, year-on-year, to 27,831, according to the Informa D&B Barometer published on Wednesday.

When comparing first halves of the year, this is the lowest figure since 2023, Informa D&B said, following a new all-time high in business start-ups reached in 2025.

According to the barometer, construction and information and communication technologies (ICT) are the only sectors to have recorded growth in entrepreneurship during this period, with construction ranking second among all sectors with the highest number of new businesses for the first time.

All other sectors thus recorded a decline in business start-ups in the first half of 2026, with the sharpest falls seen in agriculture and livestock (-37%), land transport (-13%), human health services (-15%), food retail (-42%) and catering (-7.7%).

Insolvencies, meanwhile, rose by 6.6% in the first six months of this year, with 1,046 companies filing for insolvency.

According to Informa D&B, more than half of the sectors saw an increase in insolvencies, “with real estate activities standing out (+104%; +27 insolvencies), where the number of insolvencies doubled compared with the first half of 2025”.

MES/ADB // ADB.

Lusa