We analysed 256 million companies across 24 markets, here’s what the data shows

June 4, 2026 · OneFirmIntel

OneFirmIntel’s dataset spans more than 256 million government-sourced companies across 24 live markets. We graded all 216,643,465 currently searchable records into quality tiers, and the headline finding is that more than a third of every “company” on the world’s registers is no longer active.

How big is the dataset?

OneFirmIntel holds 256M+ companies across 24 live markets, of which 216,643,465 are currently searchable and graded. Rather than report one inflated number, we sort every company into a quality tier, ★★★ Listed, ★★ Established, ★ New entrant, or Inactive, so the count reflects how many businesses are actually real and operating.

The tiers are derived from official, government-sourced registry data, incorporation dates, listing status and activity flags, deduplicated to one clean record per company.

62% active, 38% dissolved

Across the 216,643,465 graded records, roughly 134.9 million companies (about 62%) are active: 103,959 are ★★★ Listed, 63,732,377 are ★★ Established, and 71,118,226 are ★ New entrants. The remaining 81,688,903, close to 38%, are dissolved, struck off, or otherwise inactive.

That dissolved-company tail is the single biggest reason raw registry counts mislead buyers. An undifferentiated “216 million companies” includes tens of millions of entities you can never actually transact with. Filtering to the active tiers cuts the noise immediately.

Listed companies are vanishingly rare

Only 103,959 of the 216 million graded companies are ★★★ Listed, fewer than one in two thousand, about 0.05%. The vast majority of the world’s businesses are private ★★ Established firms, which is exactly the tier most buyers, suppliers and counterparties care about.

Where the companies are

By company count, Brazil leads with 68,081,781 records, followed by India (43,031,033), France (29,572,772), the United States (22,983,684) and Australia (20,202,502). These five markets alone account for the majority of the searchable universe, though every one of the 24 live markets carries the same tier grading so cross-market comparisons stay apples-to-apples.

Why tier-grading matters

For procurement, market sizing or counterparty screening, the usable number is never the total, it is the active, established slice in your target market and sector. OneFirmIntel exposes that breakdown for free on every directory and statistics page, then lets you reveal the specific companies you need, one credit each.

Sources & further reading

External links are provided for reference; third-party names are trademarks of their owners.

See the data

Explore the companies behind these numbers.

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FAQ

How many companies are there in the world?

OneFirmIntel indexes 256M+ companies across 24 live markets, of which 216,643,465 are currently searchable and graded into quality tiers (2026, government-sourced).

How many companies are still active?

Of the 216,643,465 graded records, about 134.9 million (62%) are active, 103,959 listed, 63,732,377 established and 71,118,226 new entrants. The other 81,688,903 (38%) are dissolved or inactive.

Which country has the most companies?

Brazil leads OneFirmIntel’s dataset with 68,081,781 records, ahead of India (43,031,033), France (29,572,772), the United States (22,983,684) and Australia (20,202,502).

How many listed companies are there?

Only 103,959 of the 216 million graded companies are ★★★ Listed, about 0.05%, or fewer than one in two thousand.