Business statistics

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By Chris Rhodes

In 2015, there were 5.4 million businesses in the UK.
Over 99% of businesses are small or medium sized businesses – employing 0–249 people.
5.1 million (95%) businesses were micro-businesses – employing 0-9 people. Micro-businesses accounted for 33% of employment and 18% of turnover.
In London, there were 1,434 businesses per 10,000 resident adults. In the North East there were 629 per 10,000 resident adults.
The service industries accounted for 74% of businesses, 79% of employment and 71% of turnover.
The manufacturing sector accounted for 5% of businesses, 10% of employment and 16% of turnover.
There were 351,000 business births and 246,000 business deaths in 2014.
20% of SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) are female-led, and in October 2015 it was announced that 26% of FTSE100 board members were female.

Businesses in the UK

In 2015, there were 5.4 million private sector businesses in the UK, up by 146,000 or 3% since 2014.

Since 2000, the number of ...