Fewer startups were launched in Sweden last year compared to the year before, but 2017 was still a strong year for small businesses, with more than 68,000 new ventures started across the country.

A total of 68,113 new businesses were registered with the Swedish Companies Registration Office (Bolagsverket) in 2017, down by 680 new businesses (or one percent) on the previous year.

The most popular type of registration was limited companies (aktiebolag), with more than 48,500 such businesses set up last year. However, that was a decrease by -2.4 percent on 2016.

Sole traders on the other hand rose by 4.7 percent to 15,666 new registrations in 2017. The figure does not include sole traders who are only registered with Sweden's tax agency Skatteverket.

Dalarna and Norrbotten counties saw the biggest increase in new businesses (up 11.1 percent and 7.8 percent, respectively), while capital city Stockholm had the most new businesses altogether with 24,355 new registrations (down -1.8 percent on 2016).

The statistics include limited companies, sole traders registered with the Companies Registration Office and various kinds of trading partnerships.

Despite the slight drop, the figures released on Tuesday indicate that Sweden's startup scene is still going strong, with the average number of new businesses after 2010 higher than previous years. 2011 still holds the record, with an impressive 69,299 new businesses started that year.

Source: www.thelocal.se
Photo: absfreepic.com