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Civil society environment in 2023 - in numbers
Learn more about the number of registered organisations, compare registration requirements and rules between CSOs and business entities, see what e-platforms are available for public participation, and what the tax benefits for donors to CSOs are. The information in the tables below was last updated in 2023. To learn more about how data has changed compared to previous years, please visit the country reports.
Number of registered CSOs in the EaP region
|
Country |
Number of CSOs |
CSOs per 10,000 inhabitants |
|
Armenia |
7,998 |
26.9 |
|
Azerbaijan |
4,766 |
4.7 |
|
Belarus |
1,9931 |
3.5 |
|
Georgia |
1,286 |
3 |
|
Moldova |
12,524 |
50 |
|
Ukraine |
133,641 |
31.42 |
Registration requirements
|
Country |
Type of CSO |
Number of founders |
Capital for establishment (EUR) |
Registration fee |
Registration processing time |
Online registration |
|
Armenia |
Public organisation |
2 or more2 |
No |
25 EUR |
10 working days |
No |
|
Foundation |
1 or more |
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|
Azerbaijan |
Public organisation |
2 or more |
No |
5.5 EUR |
30-60 working days |
No |
|
Foundation |
1 or more |
5,000 EUR |
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|
Belarus |
Public association |
10 citizens (local) 50 citizens (national) |
No |
55 EUR (local) 110 EUR (national and international) |
1 month |
No |
|
Foundation |
1 or more |
800 EUR (local) 8,000 EUR (national and international) |
1 month |
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|
Private institution |
1 individual or one legal person |
No |
5.5 EUR |
/ |
||
|
Georgia |
Non-entrepreneurial legal entity (NELE) |
1 individual |
No |
70 EUR (standard procedure) 140 EUR (urgent procedure) |
Standard: 1 working day Urgent: same day |
Yes |
|
Moldova |
Public association |
2 or more3 |
No |
Free |
15 days |
Possibility to submit documents online (by e-mail) |
|
Foundation |
1 or more |
1,290 EUR |
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|
Private institution |
1 |
No express provision (minimal, e.g., 5 EUR) |
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|
Local action group |
3 or more |
No |
60 EUR |
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|
Intercommunity Development Association, Association of Water Consumers |
1 or more |
|
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|
Ukraine |
Public association |
2 or more5 |
No |
Free |
3 days |
Yes |
|
Charitable organisation |
2 or more |
24 hours |
Comparative overview of registration rules between CSOs and business entities
|
Country |
Processing Days |
Fees in EUR |
Other comparisons |
||
|
CSOs |
Businesses |
CSOs |
Businesses |
||
|
Armenia |
10 days (2 days for public associations using standard charter template) |
2 days (immediate for companies using standard charter template and for individual entrepreneurs) |
25 EUR |
Free or 7.5 EUR for individual entrepreneurs |
Online registration is not available for CSOs but is for businesses. |
|
Azerbaijan |
30-60 working days |
1-3 working days |
5,5 EUR |
5,5 EUR |
Denial of registration happens often for CSOs but rarely for business entities |
|
Belarus6 |
30 days for public associations |
1-2 working days |
5.5 EUR: private institutions 55 EUR: local foundations and public associations 110 EUR: national and international public associations and for national and international foundations |
11 EUR for simplest legal forms for businesses |
/ |
|
Georgia |
|
1 day |
70 EUR, 140 EUR for accelerated procedure |
70 EUR 140 EUR: for accelerated procedure |
/ |
|
Moldova |
15 days |
1 day 4 hours: urgent procedure |
Free |
18 EUR: Individual entrepreneur. 55 EUR: Other business 220 EUR: Urgent procedure |
CSO need: more burdensome documentation for registration; technically outdated register |
|
Ukraine |
3 days: public association |
1 day |
Free |
Free |
Legal entities can be registered via the Diia portal, while CSOs cannot. The fee for amendments to CSOs’ information is three times lower than for other entities |
E-platforms for public participation
|
Country |
Electronic platforms |
Publishing and consulting features |
|
Armenia |
Both |
|
|
Azerbaijan |
https://www.meclis.gov.az/index.php?lang=en (Parliament website) |
Only publishing features (with technical feature to send suggestions/opinions on the proposed law). |
|
Belarus |
Both (however, not all draft legislation is published on this platform (particularly those that are controversial in terms of human rights. Also, public consultations are not obligatory for all draft laws.) |
|
|
Georgia |
1. https://idea.municipal.gov.ge/ (Municipal level) 2. https://parliament.ge/en/ - for draft laws (Parliament website) |
1. Both 2. Only publishing |
|
Moldova |
Both |
|
|
Ukraine |
1. Vzaemo.Diia platform 2. Web-portal of the Parliament of Ukraine |
1. These features are provided in the platform, but not yet implemented. 2. Only publishing |
Tax benefits for donors
|
Country |
Tax benefits for individual donors |
Tax benefits for corporate donors |
|
Armenia |
No benefits are available. |
The assets, work or services provided to CSOs can be deducted from the profit tax base, but not more than in the amount of 0.25 per cent of the gross income within one financial year (applicable for donors such as companies, individual entrepreneurs, CSOs carrying out economic activities, etc.) |
|
Azerbaijan |
No benefits are available. |
Up to 10 percent of the profit from the reporting year is free of taxation from 1 January 2019, for a period of 10 years if it is donated (via wire transfer) to enterprises, institutions and organisations involved in science, education, health, sports, or culture. Since March 2020, a mechanism was introduced for corporate social responsibility (CSR) for businesses to distribute the 10 percent. However, only CSOs in the sphere of culture will be able to comply with the criteria. |
|
Belarus |
No benefits are available. |
Tax deduction (in the amount not exceeding 10 per cent of gross profit) is available to corporate donors who provide aid only to public associations and foundations directly listed in the tax code (currently 17 organisations are listed there). |
|
Georgia |
No benefits are available. |
Legal entities can deduct the value of money, or the market value of free service/property gratuitously donated to charities in the maximum amount of up to 10 per cent of their taxable income. |
|
Moldova |
No benefits are available |
Donations are deductible up to 5 per cent of the taxable base. |
|
Ukraine |
Charitable assistance in the form of funds, property, or services to CSOs can be deducted in an amount not exceeding 4 percent of taxable income. During the quarantine regime the 4 per cent limitation was cancelled for income taxpayer’s when providing charitable aid. |
The amount of provided charitable assistance can be asserted as an expense. However, if a legal entity earns over 950,000 EUR per year, such a legal entity is entitled to assert only 4 per cent of the income for the past year as an expense. However, due to the martial law, aid provided to the army, hospitals and other recipients is allowed to be accounted for as tax expenditures in full (without limitation to the 4% limit). |
|
Individuals and legal entities who delivered goods, performed works, provided services to entities in the field of physical culture and sports, free of charge to apply a tax rebate of up to 8 per cent of income for the previous year. If the free supply of goods, works, services in other areas is made during the year, the amount of the tax rebate will be up to 4 per cent of income for the previous year. |
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- 1This number includes 1) Public associations (1,973); trade unions (20); 2) and does not include foundations (227) and an unknown quantity of private institutions that meet the criteria of a CSO. This number includes the several hundred CSOs for which decisions on liquidation were made during 2022-2023 but that have not yet been excluded from the register of legal entities and have not passed all the stages of liquidation.
- 2In Armenia and Azerbaijan for both types of CSOs, founders can be both individuals and/or legal entities.
- 3In Moldova, founders for all types of CSOs can be legal or physical persons.
- 5In Ukraine founders for both type of CSOs can be individuals and/or legal entities.
- 6For CSOs, there are often unclear grounds for refusal of registration.