A register of more than half a million entities
The Cyprus register held 571,218 entities at the time of writing. Limited companies dominate: 494,835 are companies, alongside 62,101 business names, 10,339 partnerships and 3,718 overseas companies registered to operate a branch in Cyprus.
Volume is not the same as activity. Only 191,235 entities — about one in three — are currently registered and active. A further 269,400 have been struck off, 71,417 are in the strike-off pipeline after a reminder letter, and the remainder are dissolved or in liquidation. For anyone assessing a Cyprus counterparty, that ratio is the single most important figure on this page: a name appearing in the register is not evidence that the business behind it still exists.
New registrations are climbing again
Annual company formations have held between roughly 13,000 and 16,000 for a decade, with a clear dip to 13,223 in 2020. The trend since has been upward: 16,407 companies were registered in 2024 and 18,857 in 2025 — the strongest year in the recent series. Registrations in the first months of 2026 are running ahead of the comparable 2025 pace.
The live month-by-month breakdown, updated from registrar publications, is on our registry statistics dashboard.
Where Cyprus companies are based
Registered offices concentrate in the two largest cities. Nicosia hosts 259,455 entities (45%) and Limassol 170,557 (30%), together accounting for three quarters of the register. Larnaca follows with 58,536, then Paphos (32,459) and Famagusta (16,180). Limassol's share reflects its role as the island's shipping and international-business hub — a pattern visible in the name data below.
What Cyprus companies do
Entity names are a useful proxy for activity. Across the register, the most common name words point to trading (39,176 entities), investments (28,530), services (19,373) and shipping (12,692) — the four pillars of the Cyprus international business sector, followed by management, consulting, property and construction.
The register is also strikingly international in language: 92% of entity names are written in Latin characters and only 38,134 in Greek — a legacy of Cyprus's role as a regional corporate domicile. The full breakdown of name patterns, industries and language split is on the activities statistics page.
What this means before you do business
Two-thirds of the entities ever registered in Cyprus are no longer active, yet their names still circulate in old contracts, invoices and directories. Before extending credit, signing a contract or paying an invoice to a Cyprus entity, verify three things directly from the register:
- Current status — "Registered" versus struck off or in liquidation.
- Exact legal name and HE number — trading styles and similar names are common.
- Directors, shareholders and filing history — available through official registry reports and certificates.
About the data and the publisher
All figures in this article are drawn from Cyprus registry data as published on this site's statistics and activities statistics pages, refreshed from registrar records. Companies House Cyprus is an independent commercial service operated by Infocredit Group Limited (HE4404) and is not affiliated with the Government of the Republic of Cyprus or the Department of Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property.
Journalists and researchers: contact info@companieshousecyprus.com for commentary or additional cuts of this data.