According to The Domains, which itself refers to Registrar.com, the .PRO zone has shown a record fall in the number of domain names. The zone was delegated in 2002, and was initially designated for professional use only, which meant that registrants were asked to file additional documents including professional qualification certificates etc. This contributed to the unpopularity of the domain, which by late 2015 had little more than 100,000 names.
The domain’s registrar Afilias then proceeded to reach an agreement with ICANN to lift the restrictions and make the .PRO zone fully open. The move led to rather stable growth resulting in 175,000 names by February 2016. The progress prompted the .PRO’s main registrar, Encirca.com, to cut the annual registration price to $3. The resulting spike lasted only about a year as many new domains were only registered because of the low price, and many registrants failed to extend them. On February 23, .PRO lost over 120,000 names. It now has 239,000.
