33,707 New Businesses Registered in Bahrain Over Two Years
A total of 33,707 businesses were registered in Bahrain in little over two years, with shops, vehicle repair firms and professional services taking almost half of the new entries.
Industry and Commerce Ministry figures covering January 1, 2024, to February 25, 2026, show trade and the repair of cars and motorcycles led the rise with 8,619 businesses, or 25.6 pc of the total.
Professional, scientific and technical work came close behind with 7,884 businesses, accounting for 23.4 pc.
Administrative and support services added 3,530 businesses, while hotels, restaurants and other food and lodging firms accounted for 2,936.
Personal services and repair work recorded 2,173 new businesses, followed by manufacturing with 2,032.
Transport and storage added 1,582, information and communications 1,555, construction 1,443 and property 1,186.
A further 724 businesses were registered in education, 607 in finance and insurance, 389 in health and social work, and 365 in arts, entertainment and recreation.
Mining and quarrying recorded 40 new businesses, water, sewerage and waste work 28, and farming and fishing 13.
The ministry counts each business once under its main commercial registration, even when it runs several branches. Firms working across several fields are counted under each field in which they trade, meaning the sector figures can overlap.
Trade and vehicle repair also remained the largest part of Bahrain’s active business base, with 38,137 firms.
Professional, scientific and technical work followed with 18,290, while manufacturing had 10,346.
Administrative and support services accounted for 10,045 active firms, hotels and food services 9,642, construction 9,157 and personal services and repairs 7,659.
Property had 4,890 active firms, information and communications 4,418, and transport and storage 3,491.
Micro, small and medium-sized firms held 85,700 active commercial registrations, equal to 93.4 pc of the total.
They employed 46,300 Bahrainis by the second quarter of 2025, according to the Information and eGovernment Authority.
Social Insurance Organisation figures for the first quarter of 2026 show 105,780 Bahrainis working in the private sector, against 478,707 foreign workers.
Bahrainis made up about 18.1 pc of the private workforce. Their average monthly wage stood at BD912, while the median was BD500.
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