Spotlight
UK business; activity, size and location: 2024
What's in the bulletin?
- The number of businesses in the UK registered for Value Added Tax (VAT) and/or Pay as You Earn (PAYE), as of March 2024, was 2.72 million, a decrease of 0.1% from March 2023.
- The number of companies continued to rise and they now represent 75.6% of total UK businesses, while the proportion of sole proprietors has decreased to 14.6% and that of partnerships has decreased to 6.1%.
- The number of transport and storage businesses grew strongly in 2020 and 2021 but has decreased since, down 9.1% in 2024.
Business demography, UK: 2023
What's in the bulletin?
- Between 2022 and 2023, the number of UK business births decreased from 337,000 to 316,000; this has led to a fall in the business birth rate from 11.5% to 11.0%.
- The number of UK business deaths fell from 349,000 to 309,000 between 2022 and 2023; this has led to a decrease in the business death rate from 11.9% to 10.8%.
- The transport and storage (including postal) industry had the highest business birth rate, at 14.5%, and the highest death rate, at 21.6%.
Datasets related to Activity, size and location
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Business demography, UK
Annual data on births, deaths and survival of businesses in the UK, by geographical area and Standard Industrial Classification 2007: SIC 2007 groups.
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Business demography, quarterly, UK
Business births and deaths from the Inter-Departmental Business Register with high-level breakdowns by industry and region. Quarterly official statistics in development.
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UK business: activity, size and location
Numbers of enterprises and local units produced from a snapshot of the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) taken on 8 March 2024.
Publications related to Activity, size and location
Statistical bulletins
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Business demography, UK: 2023
Annual change in the number of UK businesses broken down by sector of the economy.
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Business demography, quarterly, UK: July to September 2024
Business creations or births and closures or deaths from the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) with high-level breakdowns by industry and region. These are official statistics in development.
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UK business; activity, size and location: 2024
UK businesses broken down by legal status, industry, region, employment and turnover size bands.
Articles
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Multiple business registrations at a single postcode, UK
Business demography explainer covering additional information on the impact of multiple registrations at a single postcode.
Methodology related to Activity, size and location
Find, compare and visualise statistics about places within the United Kingdom.