By Dr. Pshtiwan Faraj | Kurdish Policy Analysis
New data from the Kurdistan Region’s Business Registration System shows strong business-registration activity, with more than 23,000 applications recorded and Erbil accounting for the overwhelming share of registered businesses.
Kurdistan Region records 23,075 business applications, with Erbil leading registrations and trading dominating the private-sector economy.
Business registration activity across the Kurdistan Region has reached significant levels, with the latest data showing 23,075 total applications recorded in the region as of August 5, 2026.
The figures, displayed on the Kurdistan Region’s Business Registration System dashboard operated by the BU Unit / Department of Information Technology, provide a snapshot of the region’s private-sector activity, business formation and geographic distribution.
Of the 23,075 total applications, the system shows 16,009 UEN-generated registrations, 7,091 new registrations and 8,918 re-introductions.
The dashboard also records 15,686 local companies and 323 foreign companies, highlighting the dominance of locally registered businesses within the region’s formal business environment.
Erbil Accounts for More Than Half of Registered Businesses
Erbil overwhelmingly leads the Kurdistan Region in business registrations.
According to the dashboard, 9,259 businesses are registered in Erbil, representing roughly 58 percent of the 16,009 UEN-generated registrations shown in the system.
Sulaymaniyah ranks second with 4,575 registrations, while Duhok has 1,274.
The remaining registrations are distributed among the region’s other administrative areas, including:
- Zakho: 658
- Raparin: 115
- Garmian: 87
- Soran: 24
- Halabja: 17
Together, the figures indicate a highly concentrated business landscape, with Erbil and Sulaymaniyah accounting for the vast majority of registered businesses.
7Trading Dominates Business Activity
The dashboard also provides insight into the sectors attracting the largest number of registered businesses.
General trading is by far the largest category, with 6,893 businesses.
It is followed by:
- Building contracting — 1,451
- Non-specialized wholesale trade — 905
- General trading wholesalers — 649
- Haj & Umra organizing — 417
- Electrical contracting — 403
- Buying & selling of real estate — 415
- Automobile trading — 348
- Mechanical contracting — 366
- Real-estate investment — 360
The dominance of general trading suggests that commerce remains at the heart of the Kurdistan Region’s private economy.
At the same time, the presence of construction, contracting, real estate, automobile trading and electrical services among the leading categories points to continued demand linked to urban development, infrastructure and population growth.
Private Limited Companies Dominate
The business-type breakdown provides another important indication of how the private sector is structured.
The dashboard lists 14,683 private limited companies, making this by far the dominant business structure.
Other registered business types include:
- Individual projects: 994
- Limited companies: 237
- Joint liability companies: 80
- Private joint liability companies: 8
- Limited partnerships: 4
- Cooperatives: 2
- Simple companies: 1
The figures suggest that the formal business environment is increasingly centered around structured corporate entities rather than smaller informal or individually registered ventures.
Most Companies Operate With Relatively Modest Capital
The capital-range distribution shows that the largest group of businesses falls into the 1 million IQD capital category, with 9,163 registrations.
Other major categories include:
- 200 million IQD — 908
- 100 million IQD — 770
- 50 million IQD — 549
- 1 billion IQD — 414
- 300 million IQD — 401
- 10 million IQD — 308
- 350 million IQD — 293
- 5 million IQD — 244
- 750 million IQD — 207
The distribution indicates that a large proportion of registered enterprises continue to operate with relatively modest declared capital, even as a smaller group of companies operates at significantly higher capital levels.
Men Continue to Dominate CEO Positions
The dashboard also provides demographic data on company chief executives.
Of the 16,009 registered businesses, approximately 15,059—or 94.1 percent—are headed by male CEOs, while 950, or 5.9 percent, are headed by women.
The figures underline the continuing gender imbalance in senior business leadership across the region.
The age distribution also shows that business leadership is concentrated among people in their late 30s through 50s, although younger entrepreneurs are represented.
The largest age group displayed is 38–42, with 2,641 CEOs, followed by 33–37, with 2,729, and 43–47, with 2,244.
There are also 271 CEOs aged 18–22 and more than 1,000 in the 23–27 age category, suggesting that younger entrepreneurs are beginning to enter the formal business sector.
Business Registration Shows Private-Sector Potential
The latest figures offer an important window into the evolving structure of the Kurdistan Region's economy.
Despite years of political uncertainty, fiscal pressures and regional instability, thousands of businesses continue to register or re-enter the formal economy.
The scale of trading activity is particularly significant.
The nearly 6,900 general-trading businesses recorded by the system demonstrate the central role of commerce in the region. However, the relatively smaller number of businesses in manufacturing and other productive sectors also highlights one of the region's longstanding economic challenges: moving beyond trade and consumption toward greater production, exports and industrial diversification.
For policymakers, the registration data therefore presents both an opportunity and a warning.
The large number of registered businesses demonstrates a substantial entrepreneurial base. But transforming that entrepreneurial activity into sustainable economic growth will require better access to finance, infrastructure, export markets, industrial investment and predictable regulations.
Erbil Remains the Region’s Business Hub
The geographic concentration of businesses is perhaps the most striking feature of the data.
With 9,259 registrations, Erbil alone accounts for more than half of all UEN-generated registrations displayed on the dashboard.
Sulaymaniyah, with 4,575, represents the region's second-largest business center, while Duhok follows at a considerably lower level.
The concentration reflects Erbil's role as the Kurdistan Region's political and administrative capital and its position as a major commercial, construction, investment and service center.
However, the relatively lower registration numbers in other parts of the region also suggest significant room for expanding private-sector activity beyond the three major urban centers.
A Growing Formal Economy—but With Structural Challenges
The business registration figures provide evidence of a sizeable and active private sector in the Kurdistan Region.
More than 16,000 UEN-generated registrations, nearly 23,100 total applications, and more than 15,600 local companies represent a substantial economic base.
Yet the numbers also reveal several structural challenges.
The concentration of businesses in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah remains pronounced. General trading continues to dominate, while female participation in corporate leadership remains low.
The next stage of the Kurdistan Region's economic development will therefore depend not simply on registering more businesses, but on helping existing businesses grow.
That means encouraging investment in manufacturing, agriculture, technology, tourism, logistics and export-oriented industries while improving access to capital and reducing barriers to doing business.
The Bigger Economic Picture
The latest registration figures nevertheless provide an encouraging signal.
At a time when the Kurdistan Region is seeking to diversify its economy and reduce dependence on public-sector employment and hydrocarbons, the existence of thousands of formally registered private businesses provides an important foundation.
The challenge now is to convert business registration into business growth.
If the Kurdistan Region can strengthen its private sector, expand investment outside its largest cities and encourage companies to move from trading imported goods toward producing and exporting goods and services, the current registration boom could become an important component of a broader economic transformation.
For now, the message from the dashboard is clear:
The Kurdistan Region has thousands of businesses entering and operating within its formal economy—but the next challenge is turning that growing business base into a more productive, diversified and export-driven economy.
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