10 oldest companies in the world

Running a business is a risky venture.

About a third of small businesses exit within the first two years, according to JP Morgan, and only half of them survive to their fifth anniversary.

And this volatility is only getting worse in the tech age.

Back in the 1960s the average lifespan of a company publicly listed in the US was 60 years. Now that average is closer to 20 years, according to Fortune.

Even the dominant brands we use daily like Google, Facebook and Apple have only been around for a few decades at most.

But there are exceptions to the rule.

UK service BusinessFinancing.co.uk has compiled a list of businesses that have stood the test of time and managed to keep running for hundreds of years. They have survived wars, natural disasters and political upheaval to keep making money.

Incredibly, a few companies have even been operating for more than 1,000 years.

Here are the 10 oldest companies in the world that are still running:

Topping the list is Japanese construction firm Kongō Gumi, which was founded in the 6th century by a Korean temple builder.

Austria's St Peter Stifts Kulinarium comes in second, where it has served meals since 803AD. According to BusinessFinancing.co.uk, the inn is speculated to have served Christopher Columbus, Johann Georg Faust and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

In Australia, Australia Post is considered the oldest still-running company. The organisation was established in 1809 in the colony of New South Wales with just one man sorting incoming mail at his home.

Here is a map of the oldest company in each country:

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