Growth in a transparency register is an important development in the public record of advocacy. Understanding the change requires more than comparing two headline numbers.
The calculation
The official annual report gives 13,118 registrants at the end of 2024 and 16,474 at the end of 2025. The net increase was 3,356, or approximately 25.6%, calculated by IGAPA as 3,356 divided by 13,118.
The report separately identifies 4,787 new registrations made during 2025 that remained active at year-end. That measure differs from the net increase in the register’s total population.
Why the distinction matters
A year-end total is a snapshot. A count of new registrations describes an inflow, with the report’s stated active-at-year-end condition. Analysts should preserve these definitions when creating a chart or comparing years.
The report partly links growth to institutional measures requiring prior registration for certain interactions. The increase therefore cannot establish, on its own, that lobbying expenditure or political influence expanded at the same rate.
IGAPA perspective
An analytical briefing should first explain the unit being counted. It can then investigate possible drivers: a change in coverage, a change in reporting behaviour or a change in the underlying activity. Each explanation needs its own evidence.
For organisations monitoring European public affairs, our recommendation is to retain annual snapshots and a short methodology note alongside any trend chart. That makes later comparisons easier to reproduce and defend.
Reference period: calendar year 2025. This is an analysis of the report published in 2026, rather than final 2026 activity.
Primary source: EU Transparency Register Annual Report 2025, Development of the Register
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