In 2025, Italian businesses are growing: a positive net figure for new companies

Positive balance for businesses in Italia in 2025. During 2025, the total number of new companies formed stood at 139,700, marking an increase of 2,025 (+1.5 per cent) compared with the 137,675 recorded in 2024. At the same time, dissolutions rose from 42,159 to 43,121, an increase of +2.2%. Despite the rise in closures, the net figure remains largely positive at 96,579 new businesses, representing an increase of 1.1% (+1,063) compared with the previous year’s net figure of 95,516. This is according to the 2025 Notarial Statistical Data Report (DSN), compiled by the National Council of Notaries, relating to businesses and companies in 2025. The DSN data is collected and processed on the basis of the activities of all notarial practices throughout the country and should be regarded as actual figures, as they represent the actual transactions carried out in Italia during 2025.

From a regional perspective, although the North remains in the lead with around 45 per cent of new companies, there has been a significant surge in the Islands. Their share of the national total rose from 7.9% in 2024 to 9.1% in 2025, with an absolute increase of 1,918, rising from 10,852 to 12,770 (+17.67 per cent), a sign of emerging economic vitality in historically less dynamic regions. By contrast, the North-West saw moderate growth of +1.5 per cent, rising from 37,501 to 38,079.

As regards amendments to articles of association in 2025, there were 136,651, down 4 per cent from the 142,338 recorded in 2024. Only 15% of these transactions relate to actual capital increases – that is, those not linked to the writing-off of losses – whilst the majority (67.7%) consist of organisational changes, with Lombardy remaining the main hub, accounting for over 26% of the transactions.

Extraordinary transactions (mergers, demergers and conversions) in 2025 totalled 22,128 transactions, representing a 1.9 per cent increase compared with the 21,710 recorded in 2024. This volume has literally skyrocketed in recent years, marking a 25 per cent increase compared with the 17,749 transactions recorded in 2016. Specifically, mergers (8,335 transactions) indicate a trend towards consolidation aimed at optimising competitiveness and account for 37.67% of total transactions, whilst demergers (5,920 deeds) have grown by 7.4 per cent compared with the 5,514 recorded in 2024, revealing a marked desire for production diversification, and account for 26.75 per cent of the total. The remainder of the extraordinary transactions consists of conversions (7,873 transactions), the majority of which (5,614) involve the transition from partnerships to limited companies.

The landscape of businesses operating as collective entities is dominated by limited companies, with 107,774 incorporations in 2025, accounting for 77.15 per cent of the total, representing an increase of +2.5 per cent compared with the 105,142 incorporations in 2024. These are followed by temporary consortia (15,487 new formations, accounting for 11.1% of the total) and partnerships (14,315 new formations, accounting for 10.25% of the total). The latter fell to 14,315, a decrease of 2.9 per cent compared with the 14,736 in 2024, plummeting over the past decade from 17 per cent in 2016 to just 10.2 per cent today. The phenomenon of co-operatives remains marginal, accounting for less than 1 per cent of all new companies formed.