A National Statistics Publication
Published by: Economic and Labour Market Statistics Branch,
Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency

Contact: Neil Mulhern
Email:
Publication Date: 06 February 2025

Theme: Business and Energy
Coverage: Northern Ireland
Frequency: Annual


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1. Key Points


There were approximately 65,000 active, registered businesses in Northern Ireland during 2023. These businesses accounted for just over 2% of the total active, registered UK business population, estimated to be 2.9 million for the same period.

This report provides an analysis of business registrations (births), de-registrations (deaths), and survivals of active businesses registered in Northern Ireland. The data presented in this report and accompanying tables are for the year ending December 2023.

Business births and deaths data are subject to revision, therefore, the figures presented may differ from those published in previous reports in this series.

Trends in business births

  • There were 5,370 business births in Northern Ireland over the year to December 2023, which is a small decrease of 0.3% on the previous year. This amounts to a birth rate (proportion of active businesses) of 8.3%.

  • The business birth rate in Northern Ireland remained the same as last year and is at its lowest level since 2012.

Trends in business deaths

  • There were 5,110 business deaths during the year to December 2023, which is a decrease of 1.2% on the previous year. This amounts to a death rate of 7.9%.

  • The business death rate in Northern Ireland (7.9%) has fluctuated between 6.6% and 8.0% since 2014 and is 1.2 percentage points (pps) below the series high in 2012.


Figure 1: Birth rates remained the same, but death rates have decreased slightly over the year for businesses registered in Northern Ireland.

Birth and death rates for businesses registered in Northern Ireland, 2005 to 2023

Note: Improvements have been made to the birth and death rate methodologies for all data from 2016 onwards. Please see Section 7: Quality and Methodology for further details.


Geography

  • The number of business births was greater than the number of deaths for nine district council areas across Northern Ireland, with Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, and Lisburn and Castlereagh City Councils the exceptions. Belfast had the highest number of births and deaths (1,120 births and 945 deaths), whilst Antrim and Newtownabbey had the lowest number of births and deaths (315 births and 305 deaths).

  • Birth rates increased for five of the eleven district councils in Northern Ireland over the year to December 2023, whilst Newry, Mourne and Down District Council remained the same. Mid and East Antrim had the highest business birth rate (10.3%), whilst Fermanagh and Omagh, and Mid Ulster shared the lowest birth rate (7.1%).

  • Death rates decreased for seven district council areas over the year to December 2023. Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, and Lisburn and Castlereagh City saw increases of more than one per cent with Fermanagh and Omagh, and Newry, Mourne and Down seeing small increases. Ards and North Down saw the largest decline in the business death rate, falling by 1.6 pps to 7.9%. Mid Ulster continued to have the lowest death rate (6.1%) across the region for the seventh consecutive year, whilst Lisburn and Castlereagh City had the highest death rate (9.3%).


Figure 2: The number of business births was greater than the number of deaths for nine district council areas across Northern Ireland in 2023.

Number of births and deaths for businesses registered in Northern Ireland by District Council Area, 2023


Industry

  • Business birth rates have decreased for seven broad industry groups. Transport and storage (including postal) saw the largest decline on the previous year (-5.1 pps).

  • Of those industries that saw an increase in their birth rate, the largest growth was in Retail, which grew by 1.7 pps, to 8.8%.

  • Construction had the highest number of business births in 2023 (920), although this was a decrease of 55 on the previous year, which amounted to a decline of 5.6%.

  • Transport and storage (including postal) also saw the largest actual decrease, down by 215 business births compared with 2022. This industry had witnessed significant increases in the number of businesses since 2019, which coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for home delivery services.

  • The number of business deaths in the Accommodation and food services (555), Arts, entertainment and recreation (390), and Education (60) in 2023, were the highest seen during the series, whilst Business administration and support services (470) saw its highest figure since 2010.

  • The business death rate was greater than the birth rate for five of the fifteen broad industry groups, including Transport and storage (including postal) and Finance and insurance.


Figure 3: The business birth rate is highest for Business administration and support services with the death rate being highest for the Transport and storage industry.

Birth and death rates for businesses registered in Northern Ireland by Industry, 2023


2. UK Comparison


Trends in UK business births and deaths

  • Northern Ireland was the only one of the four regions not to see a drop in its birth rate since 2022, with it remaining at 8.3%.

  • The birth rate in England (11.1%) was the lowest it has been since 2010, with the rate in Wales being the lowest since 2012.

  • Business death rates, when compared with the previous year, showed decreases across the UK. Scotland and England decreased by 1.3 and 1.2 pps respectively, with Wales (0.3 pps) and Northern Ireland (0.1 pps) showing smaller declines.

  • The death rate dropped in all four regions in the same year for the first time since 2018.


Figure 4: Northern Ireland was the only one of the four UK regions not to see a drop in its business birth rate since 2022.

Business birth rates by UK region, 2010 to 2023

Note: Improvements have been made to the birth and death rate methodologies for all data from 2016 onwards. Please see Section 7: Quality and Methodology for further details.


Figure 5: Business death rates have decreased for all four UK regions over the year to 2023.

Business death rates by UK region, 2010 to 2023

Note: Improvements have been made to the birth and death rate methodologies for all data from 2016 onwards. Please see Section 7: Quality and Methodology for further details.


3. Survival Rates


A business is deemed to have survived if it is active or activated (birth) in a given year and remains active in terms of employment and/or turnover in subsequent years.

  • Northern Ireland had the highest 5-year survival rate of the four UK regions for businesses registered in 2018 (121.1 Index, UK = 100).

  • The Education industry saw the highest 5-year survival rate in Northern Ireland, with 60% of businesses registered in 2018, still active in 2023. Transport and storage (including postal) saw the lowest 5-year survival rate over the same period.

  • The 5-year survival rate for Finance and insurance businesses registered in 2017 (64.3%) fell by 14.3 pps to 50.0% for those registered in 2018. The equivalent figures for Wholesale businesses show an increase of 7.7 pps.


Figure 6: Northern Ireland had the highest 5-year survival rate of the four UK regions for registered businesses in 2018.

Comparison of survival rates for registered businesses in 2018, Index, UK = 100


4. High Growth Businesses


A high growth business will have had at least 10 employees in 2020 and had an average growth in employment of greater than 20% per year between 2020 and 2023.

  • In 2023, there were 240 businesses registered in Northern Ireland, that were classified as high growth. This amounts to a high growth rate of 3.1%.

  • The number of high growth businesses increased for all four UK regions over the year to 2023, with Northern Ireland observing the smallest percentage growth (6.7%). This contrasts with 2022 when it recorded the highest percentage growth across the UK.

  • The high growth rate for Northern Ireland remained lower than the other UK regions. The Northern Ireland business profile is dominated by small businesses with less than 10 employees, which account for 89% of all VAT and/or PAYE registered businesses operating in Northern Ireland.


Figure 7: The high growth rate for Northern Ireland remained lower than the other UK regions.

High growth rates by UK region, 2017 to 2023


5. Employer Demography


Employer demography is an alternative measure of business demography based on businesses with at least one employee. Employer births include the number of new businesses with one or more employees, as well as existing businesses that have recently started to employ at least one person. Similarly, employer deaths include the number of employer businesses that have de-registered, as well as those that remain on the register, but no longer employ any staff.

  • There were approximately 57,000 active, registered employer businesses in Northern Ireland during 2023. There were 5,120 employer business births in Northern Ireland, amounting to a rate of 9.0%.

  • The employer business birth rate decreased in all but one of the four regions in 2023, with only Scotland seeing a small growth on the previous year (0.2 pps).

  • There were 4,605 employer business deaths in Northern Ireland in 2023, the highest since the series began in 2017. This is a large increase of 450 businesses (10.8%) on the previous year.

  • England and Wales both had an employer business death rate higher than its birth rate. Northern Ireland continues to have the lowest employer death rate of the four regions (8.1%).


6. Background Notes


Business births and deaths are subject to revisions. The data presented in this release may not match previous publications in this series.

Data Sources
Business demography statistics are produced from the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR). The two main sources of input for the IDBR are VAT and PAYE records from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Additional information comes from Companies House, Dun and Bradstreet, and business surveys. The IDBR is, therefore, a register of all VAT and/or PAYE registered businesses in the UK. Small businesses that do not reach the tax threshold (turnover of £85,000 per annum for the period these statistics cover) or do not have employees paid via PAYE are, in most cases, not included.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) provides the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) with business birth, death, and survival data from the Northern Ireland element of the IDBR. NISRA analyses these data and publishes business demography statistics for Northern Ireland.

Coverage
The data used for this publication relate to businesses registered in Northern Ireland and exclude public sector organisations and the agricultural sector. Composite and managed services companies have also been excluded as the address does not represent the location of the activities of the business. All other businesses, which are VAT and/or PAYE registered, are included.

The data used for this publication exclude those businesses operating in Northern Ireland, which have their registered (or main) address elsewhere in the UK.

NISRA publishes counts of businesses operating in Northern Ireland in the annual Northern Ireland Business; Activity, Size, Location and Ownership release. This publication provides counts of businesses operating in Northern Ireland, including those in the agriculture sector, by industry and geographical breakdown.

Definitions
The statistics presented in this release have been produced using recommended definitions and methodologies outlined in the joint Eurostat and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) manual on business demography statistics.

Business
In these data, the enterprise definition of a business is used: an enterprise is defined as the smallest number of legal units (based on VAT and PAYE records) which has a certain degree of autonomy in decision making. Each enterprise is assigned to a geographical location within the UK based on its registered (or main) address. This means that the Northern Ireland figures will not include businesses operating in Northern Ireland which have their registered (or main) address elsewhere in the UK.

Active
The starting point for demography is the concept of a population of active businesses in a reference year (t). These are defined as businesses that were registered on the IDBR by having a VAT and/or PAYE at any time during the reference year. Births and deaths are then identified by comparing active populations for different years. Birth and death rates are calculated by dividing the births and deaths within year t by the active population for the same year. The ONS publishes active population figures for the UK on the NOMIS website.

Births
A birth is identified as a business that was on the IDBR in year t, but was not on the IDBR in year t-1 or t-2. Births are identified by making comparison of annual active population files and identifying those present in the latest file, but not the two previous ones.

Deaths
A death is defined as a business that was on the active file in year t, but was no longer present in the active file in t+1 and t+2. In order to provide an early estimate of deaths, an adjustment has been made to the latest two years’ deaths to allow for reactivations. The figures for these years are provisional and subject to revision.

Survival
A business is deemed to have survived if having been a birth in year t or having survived to year t; it is active in terms of employment and/or turnover in any part of t+1.

High Growth
High growth (for the purposes of this publication) measures businesses, who had at least 10 employees in year t-3, and that had an average growth in employment of greater than 20% per year between t-3 and t. The high growth rates are calculated by showing these businesses as a proportion of active businesses with 10 or more employees in year t. Businesses born in t-3 and agriculture businesses are not included.

The Northern Ireland Department for the Economy (DfE) publishes an extensive annual report on High Growth Firms using data from the IDBR. There are definitional differences in the data presented in the DfE report and that presented here and, as such, they are not directly comparable. The data in the DfE report include agriculture and all businesses operating in Northern Ireland, while the data presented in this report exclude agriculture and covers only those businesses registered in Northern Ireland. The data in this report are comparable with the ONS data for the four UK regions.

Employer Demography
Employer births include the number of new businesses with one or more employees as well as existing businesses that have recently started to employ at least one person. Similarly, employer deaths include the number of employer businesses that have de-registered, as well as those that remain on the register, but no longer employ any staff. It is important to note that these counts include single employee companies where the employee is also the owner-director.


7. Quality and Methodology


The data used to produce the statistics in this report have been provided by the ONS. Business demography is produced from the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR), which is sourced mainly from administrative data. It is important to note that data extracted from the IDBR will be impacted by the timeliness of administrative updates. Business demography data have been produced in line with European Union regulation, the SBS Recast Regulation 295/2002, which specifies the need for the annual collection of these data. The methodology and definitions used to create the data can be found in the joint Eurostat and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and development (OECD) manual on business demography. The ONS are continually trying to improve the quality of business demography statistics and have made a number of recent improvements in line with OECD recommendations:

  • The business demography data reference period records the number of businesses active over a period of a year. From 2016 onwards, the reference period changed from the 12 months to November, to the calendar year.
  • Deaths data have been adjusted to account for reactivations over the year.
  • Removal of businesses that only have a live company number and do not have a VAT or PAYE registration, as well as dummy enterprises generated for administrative purposes.

Further details on these changes can be found in the ONS Business Demography, UK: 2023 report.

Further detail on the quality of Northern Ireland business demography data, and the methodology used to produce them, can be found in NISRA’s Quality and Methodology Report.