Report · One-off
The Activity Gap in the Latvian Register
The register lists 139,781 active limited companies. Of the 123,862 old enough to have filed two years of accounts, 84,973 reported turnover in their latest accounts, 68.6%, and 75,304 had staff. The other 38,889, 31.4%, show no sign of trading in the accounts they file: 13,914 filed none for either 2024 or 2025, and 24,975 reported no turnover.
How Many Active Latvian Companies Are Actually Trading?
Of the 123,862 active limited companies old enough to have filed two years of accounts, 84,973, or 68.6%, reported turnover in their latest accounts. The other 38,889, 31.4%, show no sign of trading: they filed no accounts for 2024 or 2025, or filed accounts with no turnover.
Each active company registered before 2025 is placed in one tier by its most recent accounts for 2024 or 2025: no accounts for either year, accounts with no turnover, turnover with no staff, or turnover with staff. The last two count as operating. The 15,919 companies registered in 2025 or later are left out, because their first financial year may not have ended and no accounts were yet due.
The deadlines leave room for that judgement. The Annual Accounts Law gives micro and small companies five months after the end of the financial year to file, and medium and large companies seven, so accounts for a calendar 2025 were due by the end of July 2026 at the latest. The accounts extract used here is from 7 September 2026.
Active companies registered before 2025, by tier
- Turnover and staff75,304 companies
- Turnover, no staff9,669 companies
- Accounts, no turnover24,975 companies
- No accounts for two years13,914 companies
Show the numbers
| Tier | Companies | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Turnover and staff | 75,304 | 60.8% |
| Turnover, no staff | 9,669 | 7.8% |
| Accounts, no turnover | 24,975 | 20.2% |
| No accounts for two years | 13,914 | 11.2% |
Staff are a separate question from trading. Of the 109,948 judged companies that did file, 26,597 reported no employees at all, 24.2%, whatever their turnover.
Which Latvian Companies Have Stopped Filing Accounts?
13,914 active companies filed no accounts for either 2024 or 2025, and 4,284 of them have never filed any in the open data. 4,119, or 29.6%, are already in liquidation or insolvency proceedings, so part of this tier is companies on their way out of the register rather than companies forgotten in it.
Of the rest, 3,261 last filed for 2023, 4,496 last filed for 2020 to 2022, 1,872 last filed for 2019 or earlier.
Companies with no accounts for two years, by the last year they filed
- Never, in the open data4,284 companies
- Last filed for 20233,261 companies
- Last filed for 2020 to 20224,496 companies
- Last filed for 2019 or earlier1,872 companies
Show the numbers
| Last accounts | Companies | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Never, in the open data | 4,284 | 30.8% |
| Last filed for 2023 | 3,261 | 23.4% |
| Last filed for 2020 to 2022 | 4,496 | 32.3% |
| Last filed for 2019 or earlier | 1,872 | 13.5% |
Are Older Latvian Companies More Likely to Have Staff?
Yes. 68.3% of active companies registered before 2010 reported turnover and staff, against 53.1% of those registered 2023 to 2024, who are also the most likely to have filed no accounts, at 15.0%. Part of that is survival: an old company still in the register is one that kept going.
The share reporting any turnover varies less. It is much the same for every registration band from 2010 onwards, between 66.7% and 67.5%, and higher for companies registered before 2010, at 72.6%.
Tiers by year of registration
- Registered before 201072.6 % reporting turnover
- Registered 2010 to 201466.7 % reporting turnover
- Registered 2015 to 201967.2 % reporting turnover
- Registered 2020 to 202266.8 % reporting turnover
- Registered 2023 to 202467.5 % reporting turnover
Show the numbers
| Registered | Companies | No accounts | No turnover | Turnover, no staff | Turnover and staff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before 2010 | 35,194 | 9.7% | 17.7% | 4.3% | 68.3% |
| 2010 to 2014 | 28,334 | 10.9% | 22.4% | 7.0% | 59.7% |
| 2015 to 2019 | 27,119 | 11.0% | 21.8% | 7.9% | 59.3% |
| 2020 to 2022 | 18,669 | 12.1% | 21.1% | 10.4% | 56.4% |
| 2023 to 2024 | 14,546 | 15.0% | 17.5% | 14.3% | 53.1% |
Has the Activity Gap Narrowed Since 2014?
Yes. Of the Latvian companies alive at the end of 2014, 65.6% filed accounts for that year and 50.3% reported turnover. By 2024 those shares were 85.9% and 65.8%, and the two moved together. 2025 is left out because its accounts are still arriving.
Most of the rise, 14.7 of 20.3 points in the filing share, came between 2016 and 2019, the years the register struck off the most limited companies: 14,200 in 2017, 18,962 in 2018, 22,261 in 2019. The register extract used here does not record why a company was struck off, and this page does not claim a cause.
Companies alive at year end that filed accounts, and that reported turnover
Show the numbers
| Year | Alive | Filed accounts | Reported turnover | Struck off |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 143,620 | 65.6% | 50.3% | 3,691 |
| 2015 | 151,309 | 65.3% | 50.6% | 6,350 |
| 2016 | 154,861 | 66.9% | 51.8% | 9,069 |
| 2017 | 151,036 | 69.5% | 53.5% | 14,200 |
| 2018 | 141,484 | 74.3% | 57.6% | 18,962 |
| 2019 | 129,130 | 81.6% | 64.0% | 22,261 |
| 2020 | 128,362 | 83.3% | 64.9% | 10,411 |
| 2021 | 124,412 | 85.9% | 65.9% | 12,193 |
| 2022 | 123,476 | 87.2% | 65.9% | 9,456 |
| 2023 | 125,197 | 86.1% | 65.2% | 6,212 |
| 2024 | 124,916 | 85.9% | 65.8% | 8,083 |
Does the Activity Gap Change Latvian Company Survival Figures?
It does. The company survival report counts a company as surviving for as long as it has not been struck off, and the site’s definitions say plainly that a dormant company is still active. Of the active companies registered from 2015 to 2019, 32.8% show no sign of trading in their latest accounts.
How Do Startups on This Map Compare With the Register?
79.0% of the 509 startups and scaleups on this map old enough to judge reported turnover, against 68.6% across the register. 4.7% filed no accounts for two years, against 11.2%, and 16.3% reported no turnover, against 20.2%.
What Can the Activity Gap Data Not Tell You?
Three things. Whether a company with no turnover is a shell, since holding companies, property companies, and companies still building a product report none for ordinary reasons; what happened after the last accounts, which describe a year already over; and why a company stopped filing, because the register records filings, not reasons.
- Whether a company with no turnover is a shell. A holding company, a company that owns property, or a company still building a product can report none for ordinary reasons.
- What happened after the last accounts. Accounts describe a year that ended months before they were filed.
- Why a company stopped filing. The register records filings, not reasons. A company that became regulated and now reports to Latvijas Banka stops appearing in this data too.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Many Active Companies Are in the Latvian Register?
The register lists 139,781 active limited companies, SIA and AS. Of the 123,862 old enough to have filed two years of accounts, 84,973 reported turnover in their latest accounts and 75,304 had staff.
How Many Latvian Companies Have No Employees?
Of the 109,948 companies old enough to judge that filed accounts, 26,597, or 24.2%, reported no employees at all, whatever their turnover.
When Must Latvian Companies File Annual Accounts?
The Annual Accounts Law gives micro and small companies five months after the end of the financial year to file, and medium and large companies seven, so accounts for a calendar year are due by the end of July the following year at the latest.
Is a Dormant Company Still Active in the Latvian Register?
Yes. A company stays active in the register until it is struck off, whether or not it trades or files accounts, which is why 31.4% of active companies old enough to judge show no sign of trading.
Does No Turnover Mean a Latvian Company Is a Shell?
Not necessarily. A holding company, a company that owns property, or a company still building a product can report no turnover for ordinary reasons, so the accounts alone cannot say which companies are shells.
Method
- Companies. Active SIA and AS in the register extract of 4 September 2026, registered before 2025.
- Accounts. Company annual reports, the latest filing for each company and year, using the most recent of 2024 and 2025. Turnover is net turnover; staff is the average number of employees.
- Winding down. An open liquidation in the register’s liquidation records, or insolvency proceedings with no end date.
- Trend. Companies alive at the end of each year and registered before it, against their accounts for that year.
- Withheld figures. A count from 1 to 19 is shown as fewer than 20, and no share is published over fewer than 200 companies.
Definitions are frozen at version 4. The full set is on the methodology page.
Cite This
Sageo SIA (2026). The Activity Gap in the Latvian Register. Riga Startups. Computed from Uzņēmumu reģistrs open data, extract of 2026-09-04. https://rigastartups.com/reports/activity-gap
Permalink: https://rigastartups.com/reports/activity-gap · CSV for this edition
The numbers are free to reuse. The register data underneath is CC0 and this analysis of it is offered on the same terms. An attribution and a link back is the whole ask.
Sources
- Uzņēmumu reģistrs open data, the company register. Extract of 4 September 2026.
- Uzņēmumu reģistrs, annual report financial data. Extract of 7 September 2026.
- Uzņēmumu reģistrs, liquidation processes and insolvency proceedings.
- Annual Accounts and Consolidated Annual Accounts Law, article 97, for filing deadlines.