Size and presence
The CNAE class of franchisors has 9,282 local units in 2024
Local units in CNAE class 77.40-3 in 2024, with 38,625 employed persons
See the full table (27 rows)
| State | 2022 | 2024 | Change | Per million inhabitants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| São Paulo | 2858 | 3416 | 19.5% | 74.3 |
| Minas Gerais | 1016 | 1133 | 11.5% | 53.1 |
| Rio de Janeiro | 741 | 850 | 14.7% | 49.4 |
| Paraná | 675 | 834 | 23.6% | 70.5 |
| Rio Grande do Sul | 565 | 655 | 15.9% | 58.3 |
| Santa Catarina | 480 | 636 | 32.5% | 78.9 |
| Goiás | 202 | 242 | 19.8% | 32.9 |
| Pernambuco | 157 | 205 | 30.6% | 21.5 |
| Ceará | 140 | 177 | 26.4% | 19.2 |
| Bahia | 152 | 172 | 13.2% | 11.6 |
| Espírito Santo | 145 | 170 | 17.2% | 41.4 |
| Distrito Federal | 133 | 154 | 15.8% | 51.6 |
| Mato Grosso | 93 | 100 | 7.5% | 26.1 |
| Rio Grande do Norte | 76 | 87 | 14.5% | 25.2 |
| Pará | 58 | 80 | 37.9% | 9.2 |
| Rondônia | 43 | 53 | 23.3% | 30.4 |
| Mato Grosso do Sul | 41 | 49 | 19.5% | 16.9 |
| Paraíba | 48 | 48 | 0.0% | 11.6 |
| Maranhão | 30 | 42 | 40.0% | 6.0 |
| Amazonas | 32 | 32 | 0.0% | 7.5 |
| Piauí | 22 | 32 | 45.5% | 9.5 |
| Alagoas | 29 | 32 | 10.3% | 9.9 |
| Tocantins | 28 | 30 | 7.1% | 19.0 |
| Sergipe | 20 | 26 | 30.0% | 11.3 |
| Acre | 8 | 10 | 25.0% | 11.4 |
| Roraima | 6 | 10 | 66.7% | 14.0 |
| Amapá | 5 | 7 | 40.0% | 8.7 |
There is no public registry of franchisors in Brazil, and the closest administrative record is a class of the CNAE (national classification of economic activities). Class 77.40-3 covers the management of non-financial intangible assets, under which the national classification places the sale and licensing of franchises, and therefore works as an administrative portrait of the franchisor side of the sector, counted by IBGE (the national statistics institute) with the same method applied to any other activity.
In 2024 this class had 9,282 local units, 19% more than in 2022, and 38,625 employed persons, 27.1% more than the 30,393 of 2022. The geographic distribution is concentrated, since the state of São Paulo accounts for 36.8% of the local units, the ten largest municipalities account for 45.5% and the 27 state capitals reach 47.6%.
At the municipal level, the city of São Paulo has 1,474 local units in the class, Rio de Janeiro 632, Belo Horizonte 629, Curitiba 331, São José do Rio Preto 297 and Porto Alegre 230. Barueri, with 184, comes next because it concentrates administrative headquarters in the São Paulo metropolitan region, and not because it is the origin of the networks registered there.
How we calculate
We use the Cadastro Central de Empresas (CEMPRE), the central business register of IBGE (the national statistics institute), in SIDRA tables 9528 and 9418, and extract the local units and employed persons of class 77.40-3 by state and by municipality, in reference year 2024, the most recent published. The comparison with 2022 uses the same table and the same class. The shares of São Paulo, of the ten largest municipalities and of the state capitals are ratios over the national total of local units. We complement the portrait with the count of active establishments in this CNAE (national classification of economic activities) in the open CNPJ (Brazilian company registry) data of Receita Federal (the federal tax authority), which serves as an order-of-magnitude check and shows the split between head offices and branches.
What this figure does not show
- Class 77.40-3 covers the management of non-financial intangible assets in general, so it includes brand licensors that do not operate franchises and excludes franchisors classified under the activity of their own business.
- A local unit is not a network, because the same franchisor may have its headquarters, an administrative branch and a distribution center counted separately.
- CEMPRE has a time lag, and 2024 is the most recent reference year available.
- The CNAE is self-declared and many companies keep an outdated classification, which shifts units between classes without any change in the activity actually carried out.
- The presence of Barueri and other cities in metropolitan regions reflects the address of administrative headquarters, not the operation or the origin of the network.
Frequently asked questions
How many franchisors are there in Brazil?
There is no public registry of franchisors. The observatory tracks 2,155 franchise networks, as of November 2026, and CNAE (national classification of economic activities) class 77.40-3, under which the national classification places the sale and licensing of franchises, comprised 9,282 local units in 2024, according to CEMPRE, the business register of IBGE (the national statistics institute), a number that does not equal the number of franchisors.
Where are franchisors headquartered?
By CNAE (national classification of economic activities) class 77.40-3, the state of São Paulo concentrates 36.8% of the local units and the 27 state capitals account for 47.6%. The city of São Paulo has 1,474 local units and Rio de Janeiro, 632. A local unit of the class does not equal a franchisor's headquarters.
How many people work at franchisors?
There is no count by franchisor. CNAE (national classification of economic activities) class 77.40-3 had 38,625 employed persons in 2024, 27.1% more than in 2022, and 23,477 of them were salaried employees, according to the Cadastro Central de Empresas (CEMPRE) of IBGE (the national statistics institute). The class includes licensors that do not operate franchises and does not reach franchisors registered under another activity.
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Maintained by Marktech, which serves franchise networks and franchises. The brands cited belong to their owners and are mentioned here only to identify the network the data refers to.