As of January 18, 2024, there were 4689 Narva entrepreneurs registered in the Business Register (including 158 in liquidation, 11 in bankruptcy proceedings). As of January 18, 2023, there were 4586 active entrepreneurs registered in the Business Register.
According to the data from the Statistics Estonia, in 2023, there were 3675 economically active enterprises in Narva, including 1834 private limited companies, 981 non-profit organizations, and 669 sole proprietors.
In Narva, 99.9% of all businesses are micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises. The majority of active businesses are micro-enterprises, where the number of employees does not exceed 9 people (96.6% of all businesses).
In Narva, there are registered only two large enterprises (with more than 250 employees): OÜ Fortaco Estonia and AS Hanza Mechanics Narva. Other large companies and actually the biggest employers of Narva town residents, such as AS Enefit Power, AS Enefit Solutions, OÜ Maxima Eesti, and OÜ Aquaphor International, are not registered in Narva and are not reflected in the statistics.
As of January 18, 2024, the most common form of entrepreneurship in Narva is a private limited company. In total, 3456 private limited companies are registered (constituting 73.7% of all entrepreneurs registered in the Business Register).
The second most common form of entrepreneurship by prevalence is the sole proprietorship. There are 793 of them (constituting 16.9% of all entrepreneurs registered in the Business Register). The third most common form of entrepreneurship among all Narva entrepreneurs registered in the Business Register is a partnership – there are 258 of them (5.5% of all entrepreneurs registered in the Business Register).
Due to the requirement in the registration process for a minimum capital of 25,000 €, joint-stock companies (24) are mostly large and medium-sized enterprises (0.5% of all entrepreneurs registered in the Business Register).
Entrepreneurial activity in Narva is on an upward trend, but overall, entrepreneurial activity in Narva is quite low. In 2023, there were 49 active enterprises per 1000 residents in Narva, while in Estonia as a whole, there were 113 enterprises per 1000 residents.
The low entrepreneurial activity among the local population is a positive factor in attracting foreign investors, as it indicates low market competition and unexploited niches from an entrepreneurial perspective.
As of January 2023, Narva’s goods export amounted to 21,733,188 €, while imports totaled 12,653,155 €.
Entrepreneurship statistics based on the Business Register data
| As of January 19, 2021 | As of January 18, 2022 | As of January 18, 2023 | As of January 18, 2024 | |
| Registered in the Business Register (businesses and non-profit organizations, housing cooperatives, foundations, state and local government agencies), including: | 5520 | 5676 | 5703 | 5830* |
| Business entities, including: | 4436 | 4582 | 4586 | 4689 |
| Joint-stock companies | 28 | 26 | 26 | 24 |
| Sole proprietorship | 898 | 896 | 842 | 793 |
| Profit-sharing cooperatives | 117 | 112 | 96 | 95 |
| Private limited companies | 3118 | 3272 | 3333 | 3456 |
| General partnerships | 68 | 67 | 67 | 63 |
| Partnership or trust | 207 | 209 | 222 | 258 |
| Branch of a foreign company | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Housing cooperative | 431 | 429 | 425 | 428 |
| Non-profit organizations | 588 | 601 | 630 | 638 |
| Joint-stock companies | 12 | 11 | 11 | 12 |
| State and local government institutions, including: | 49 | 49 | 51 | 47 |
| State authorities | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Local government authorities | 48 | 47 | 47 | 43 |
* As of January 18, 2024, according to the data from the Business Register. Total: 5830 entrepreneurs, including: registered – 5645: JSC-20, LLC-3358, sole proprietorships -793, profit-sharing cooperatives -93, general partnerships -53, partnerships or trust -239, non-profit organizations -602, foundations -12, housing cooperatives -428, state and local government institutions-47;
in liquidation – 158: general partnerships -10, LLC-91, profit-sharing cooperatives -2, partnerships or trust -19, non-profit organization -36;
in bankruptcy proceedings – 11: JSC-4, LLC-7.