An Accredited Official Statistics Publication
Published by: Economic and Labour Market Statistics Branch,
Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency

Contact: Neil Mulhern
Email:
Publication Date: 10 June 2026

Theme: Business, Economy and Trade
Coverage: Northern Ireland Frequency: Annual
Source: Inter-Departmental Business Register


DETAILED TABLES AND CHARTS

1. Key Points


  • The number of Value Added Tax (VAT) and/or Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) registered businesses operating in Northern Ireland in 2026 has risen by 1,545 (1.9%) since March 2025 to 82,680. This marked the twelfth consecutive year of increase following a period of decline from 2008 to 2014.

  • All four headline industries saw an increase in the number of businesses since 2025. The number of businesses in Services increased by 2.2% (975), whilst the number in Construction (11,785) is the highest since the series began in 2010. The number of businesses in Production increased slightly by 35 businesses (0.6%) to 5,615, which is the highest observed since 2010.

  • Since 2016, the total number of registered businesses operating in Northern Ireland has increased by 12,625 (18.0%). More than half (60.1%) of this increase occurred in Services, which amounted to 7,585 businesses.

  • The geographical spread of businesses across the 11 local government districts (LGDs) in Northern Ireland remained relatively unchanged, with Belfast having the highest number of businesses (12,100 or 14.6%) and Antrim & Newtownabbey with the least number of businesses (4,435 or 5.4%).

  • Of all businesses operating in Northern Ireland, 2.8% (2,325) were owned by an enterprise registered outside of Northern Ireland. These businesses accounted for just under one-quarter of employees (24.3%). The number of non-locally owned businesses operating in Northern Ireland has increased by 42.6% over the 10 years since 2016. Their number of employees increased by 14.7% over the same period.


2. NI Business Profile, 2026


  • There were 82,680 businesses registered for VAT and/or PAYE operating in Northern Ireland in March 2026.

  • The majority of businesses (89.4% or 73,880) in Northern Ireland were micro-businesses (less than 10 employees). Just 2.1% (1,765) of businesses were medium or large businesses (50 or more employees).

  • Almost four in ten businesses in Northern Ireland (38.5% or 31,830) had turnover of less than £100,000, whilst just 13.1% (10,870 businesses) had turnover more than £1 million.

  • The registered business population in Northern Ireland accounts for 2.9% of the total UK figure, which was 2.7 million in 2025. The ONS publishes UK business; activity, size and location statistics with data presented by the four UK regions. It is important to note that the ONS data refer to businesses registered in each of the four regions.

Map 1: The highest number of businesses in Northern Ireland was in Belfast, with the smallest number in Antrim & Newtownabbey.

Number of businesses by Local Government District, 2026

Map of Northern Ireland Local Government Districts with number of registered businesses. The highest number of businesses in Northern Ireland was in Belfast, with the smallest number in Antrim and Newtownabbey.


Figure 1: The majority of businesses in Northern Ireland (89.4%) were micro-sized businesses. Just 2.1% of businesses had 50 or more employees.

Percentage of businesses operating in Northern Ireland by employee size band, 2026


Figure 2: Almost four in ten businesses in Northern Ireland (38.5%) had a turnover of less than £100,000, whilst just 13.1% had a turnover of more than £1 million.

Percentage of businesses operating in Northern Ireland by turnover size band, 2026


3. Change Over One Year


  • There were 1,545 (1.9%) more registered businesses operating in Northern Ireland in March 2026 than in March 2025.

  • Each of the four headline industries experienced growth in the number of businesses over the year to March 2026. The largest absolute growth was in Services (975 businesses or 2.2%), with Agriculture seeing growth for the fifth consecutive year (215 businesses or 1.1%). The number of businesses within Construction grew by 315 to 11,785, which amounted to the largest percentage growth of 2.7%. The number of businesses within Production saw a small increase of 35 businesses, or 0.6%.

  • All 11 LGDs across Northern Ireland saw an increase in the total number of businesses in the year up to March 2026. The largest growth in percentage terms was seen in Ards & North Down (2.9% or 140 businesses). This meant there were more than 5,000 businesses registered in Ards & North Down for the first time since the new LGD boundaries were introduced in 2015. Derry City & Strabane saw both the smallest percentage and absolute growth of all LGDs, increasing by 0.3% or 15 business. This contrasts with 2025 when it had the largest percentage growth of all the LGDs. The largest absolute change was witnessed in Belfast (285 businesses or 2.4%).


Figure 3: Construction saw the largest growth in percentage terms in the number of businesses over the year to 2026.

Percentage change in the number of businesses operating in Northern Ireland by Headline Industry, 2025 to 2026


Figure 4: The number of businesses increased in all 11 LGDs in Northern Ireland over the year to 2026.

Percentage change in the number of businesses operating in Northern Ireland by Local Government District, 2025 to 2026


4. Change Over Five Years


  • There were 5,040 (6.5%) more registered businesses operating in Northern Ireland in 2026 than five years earlier in March 2021.

  • There were increases in all but two broad industry groups during the five-year period, with only Transport & storage (-7.2% or 235 businesses) and Finance & insurance (-3.5% or 45 businesses) seeing a decline. The largest increase in percentage terms was in Motor trades (15.0% or 415 businesses).

  • The largest increases in absolute terms over the five-year period were seen in Agriculture, forestry & fishing (1,050 businesses or 5.8%) and Construction (955 businesses or 8.8%).


Figure 5: The number of businesses in Motor trades has grown by 15.0% since 2021. There has also been a large increase (12.7%) in businesses operating within Education.

Percentage change in the number of businesses operating in Northern Ireland by Broad Industry Group, 2021 to 2026


  • The number of registered businesses operating in Northern Ireland, owned by an enterprise registered outside of Northern Ireland, accounted for 2.8% (2,325) of all registered businesses operating in Northern Ireland and nearly one-quarter (24.3%) of employees. These shares have grown by 0.3 and 0.7 percentage points respectively when compared with 2021.

  • Businesses whose ownership were based in the European Union (excluding ROI) increased by 61.9% (130 businesses) over the five years to 2026. The number of employees working within these enterprises saw a large increase of 58.1% (10,920) over the same period. However, similar figures for those businesses with ownership located in Great Britain saw a decrease of 4.5% (35 businesses), and 6.1% (4,895) for employee jobs since 2021. The equivalent figures for turnover are not available.


Figure 6: The number of businesses operating in Northern Ireland owned by an enterprise registered outside of Northern Ireland increased from the Republic of Ireland, the European Union, and the Rest of the World since 2021. The comparable figure declined for Great Britain.

Percentage change in the number of non-Northern Ireland owned businesses and employees operating in Northern Ireland by Country, 2021 to 2026



5. Change Over 10 Years


  • There were 12,625 (18.0%) more registered businesses operating in Northern Ireland in March 2026 than March 2016.

  • Construction saw the biggest percentage growth (26.4%) of the four headline industries over the 10 years from 2016 to 2026. Production and Service industry businesses both also saw large growth over the same period of 21.8% and 19.7% respectively. The rise in Services was helped in large part by an increase of just over 1,500 businesses (27.8%) within the Professional, scientific and technical industry.

  • All 11 LGDs saw growth in the number of businesses registered there during the 10 years to 2026. The largest growth in absolute terms was in Belfast with 2,000 more businesses registered than in 2016. The largest growth in percentage terms was in Newry, Mourne & Down, which saw an increase of 22.7% on 2016.


Figure 7: Of the four headline industries, Construction has seen the largest percentage growth in the number of businesses over the 10 years, 2016 to 2026.

Change in the number of businesses operating in Northern Ireland by Headline Industry, 2016 to 2026 (Index, 2016 = 100).


Figure 8: The number of businesses increased in all 11 LGDs over the 10 years, 2016 to 2026. Belfast saw the largest increase in the absolute number of businesses, whilst Newry, Mourne & Down saw the largest percentage change.

Absolute and percentage change in the number of businesses operating in Northern Ireland by Local Government District, 2016 to 2026.

6. Background Notes


A series of detailed tables accompany the release of this publication and are available on the NISRA website.

Details of the methodology and definitions used in these tables, along with information on the coverage of the statistics, known quality issues, and disclosure control methods are included in the Quality and Methodology Information document on the NISRA website.

The data presented in this bulletin and accompanying tables are taken from a snapshot of the Northern Ireland element of the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) on 13th March 2026.

The IDBR contains businesses that are registered for VAT and/or PAYE with HMRC. The IDBR covers most of the economy including agriculture, production and service industries in Northern Ireland. The business activity, or industry, is recorded using Standard Industrial Classification (UK SIC 2007) codes.

Information on foreign-owned businesses operating in the UK is obtained on an annual basis by the ONS from the market information company, Dun and Bradstreet. It should be noted that the foreign ownership data provided by Dun and Bradstreet is not complete and data published from IDBR records may not be the most up-to-date information available at that time. NISRA carries out further disaggregation of the foreign ownership data to allow it to distinguish between Northern Ireland-owned businesses and those owned elsewhere in the UK.