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: 03 February 2026

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


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1. Key Points


There were approximately 65,700 active, registered businesses in Northern Ireland during 2024. These businesses accounted for just 2.3% 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 2024.

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 6,240 business births in Northern Ireland over the year to December 2024, which is a large increase of 16.2% on the previous year. This amounts to a birth rate (proportion of active businesses) of 9.5%.

  • The business birth rate in Northern Ireland increased for the first time since 2021.

Trends in business deaths

  • There were 4,790 business deaths during the year to December 2024, which is a decrease of 3.6% on the previous year. This amounts to a death rate of 7.3%.

  • The business death rate in Northern Ireland (7.3%) has fluctuated between 6.6% and 8.0% since 2014. It is 1.8 percentage points (pps) below the series high in 2012 and is the lowest it has been since 2020.


Figure 1: Birth rates saw an increase, but death rates have decreased over the year for businesses registered in Northern Ireland.

Birth and death rates for businesses registered in Northern Ireland, 2005 to 2024

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 business births was greater than the number of deaths in all 11 local government districts (LGDs) across Northern Ireland.

  • Antrim & Newtownabbey, Mid & East Antrim, and Mid Ulster all saw a decrease in the number of births when compared with 2023. Belfast had the highest number of births and deaths (1,435 births and 920 deaths), whilst Antrim & Newtownabbey had the lowest number of both births and deaths (300 births and 260 deaths).

  • The number of business births in Derry City & Strabane more than doubled from 370 to 755 in the twelve months to December 2024.

  • Birth rates increased for seven of the 11 LGDs in Northern Ireland over the year to December 2024. Derry City & Strabane had the highest business birth rate (15.1%), whilst Mid Ulster had the lowest birth rate (6.8%).

  • Death rates decreased for eight LGDs over the year to December 2024. Lisburn & Castlereagh saw the largest decline in the business death rate, falling by 1.8 pps to 7.4%. Derry City & Strabane saw the largest increase in its death rate, rising by 2.4 pps to 9.9%. Fermanagh & Omagh had the lowest death rate (5.2%) across the region, replacing Mid Ulster which had the lowest death rate for the previous seven years.


Figure 2: The number of business births was greater than the number of deaths for all 11 local government districts across Northern Ireland in 2024.

Number of births and deaths for businesses registered in Northern Ireland by local government district, 2024

Industry

  • Of those industries that saw an increase in their birth rate, the largest rises were in Transport and storage and Wholesale, which both grew by 3.8 pps to 12.9% and 10.4% respectively.

  • Business birth rates for four out of 15 broad industry groups saw small decreases since 2023. The Professional, scientific and technical industry saw the largest decline on the previous year from 9.6% to 9.1% (0.5 pps).

  • Construction had the highest number of business births in 2024 (895), although this was a decrease of 25 on the previous year, which amounted to a decline of 2.7%.

  • Retail saw the largest actual increase, up by 250 births compared with 2023. Production (220) and Wholesale (150) also saw large increases.

  • The number of business deaths in Production (465) was the highest seen since the series began in 2009, whilst Retail (560) saw its highest figure since 2013.

  • The number of business births was greater than deaths for all but one of the 15 broad industry groups, with Finance and insurance being the exception.


Figure 3: The 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, 2024


2. UK Comparison


Trends in UK business births and deaths

  • Northern Ireland saw the largest increase in its business birth rate of the four UK regions compared with 2023, rising by 1.2 pps to 9.5%. However, this is still the lowest birth rate across the UK.

  • Wales was the only one of the four regions to see a drop in its birth rate since 2023, falling by 0.2 pps to 10.1%.

  • Business death rates in 2024, when compared with the previous year, showed decreases across the UK. Wales and England decreased by 1.5 and 1.0 pps respectively, with Scotland (0.7 pps) and Northern Ireland (0.4 pps) showing smaller declines.

  • The death rate in the UK overall (9.8%) is at its lowest since 2016.


Figure 4: Northern Ireland saw the largest increase in its business birth rate of the four UK regions since 2023.

Business birth rates by UK region, 2010 to 2024

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 2024.

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 2019 (111.5 Index, UK = 100).

  • The Health industry saw the highest 5-year survival rate in Northern Ireland, with 66.7% of businesses registered in 2019, still active in 2024. Health businesses also had the highest survival rate at each stage between one and five years. Transport and storage (including postal) saw the lowest 5-year survival rate (17.9%) over the same period.

  • The 5-year survival rate for Production businesses registered in 2018 (51.5%) fell by 13.0 pps to 38.5% for those registered in 2019. The equivalent figures for Health businesses show an increase of 9.6 pps.


Figure 6: Northern Ireland had the highest 5-year survival rate of the four UK regions for registered businesses in 2019.

Comparison of survival rates for registered businesses in 2019, Index, UK = 100


4. High Growth Businesses


A high growth business will have had at least 10 employees in 2021 and had an average growth in employment of greater than 20% per year between 2021 and 2024.

  • In 2024, there were 270 businesses registered in Northern Ireland, that were classified as high growth. This amounts to a high growth rate of 3.5%.

  • The number of high growth businesses increased for all four UK regions over the year to 2024, with Northern Ireland observing the highest percentage growth (12.5%). This contrasts with 2023 when it recorded the lowest percentage growth (6.7%) 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. (Please see Northern Ireland businesses, 2024 for further details).


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

High growth rates by UK region, 2017 to 2024


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 57,500 active, registered employer businesses in Northern Ireland during 2024. There were 5,585 employer business births in Northern Ireland, amounting to a rate of 9.7%.

  • The employer business birth rate increased in Northern Ireland (0.7 pps) and England (0.1 pps) compared with 2023, with only Wales seeing a small decline on the previous year (0.2 pps). The employer business birth rate remained the same in Scotland.

  • There were 4,410 employer business deaths in Northern Ireland in 2024. This is a decrease of 195 businesses (4.2%) on the previous year.

  • England, Scotland and Northern Ireland all had an employer business birth rate higher than its death rate. Northern Ireland continues to have the lowest employer death rate of the four regions (7.7%).


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 £90,000 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: 2024 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.