Business demography by area and year

See what variables and values are shown in your table

Variable	Visibility	Selected values	Action
Data description	Shown in table	All 8 values	Change values
Year	Shown in table	All 23 values	Change values
Area	Shown in table	All 42 values	Change values

Table

Standard shorthand is used in this table: [p] = provisional, [r] = revised, [t] = total, [x] = not available.

Data values	Data description	Year	Area
242,540	Births	2002	United Kingdom
213,345	Deaths	2002	United Kingdom
2,115,915	Active enterprises	2002	United Kingdom
11.5	Birth Rate	2002	United Kingdom
10.1	Death Rate	2002	United Kingdom
64	Births per 10,000 of the population aged 16 to 64	2002	United Kingdom
56	Deaths per 10,000 of the population aged 16 to 64	2002	United Kingdom
555	Active enterprises per 10,000 of the population aged 16 to 64	2002	United Kingdom
[x]	Births	2002	Great Britain
[x]	Deaths	2002	Great Britain
[x]	Active enterprises	2002	Great Britain
[x]	Birth Rate	2002	Great Britain
[x]	Death Rate	2002	Great Britain
[x]	Births per 10,000 of the population aged 16 to 64	2002	Great Britain
[x]	Deaths per 10,000 of the population aged 16 to 64	2002	Great Britain
[x]	Active enterprises per 10,000 of the population aged 16 to 64	2002	Great Britain
[x]	Births	2002	England
[x]	Deaths	2002	England
[x]	Active enterprises	2002	England
[x]	Birth Rate	2002	England
[x]	Death Rate	2002	England
[x]	Births per 10,000 of the population aged 16 to 64	2002	England
[x]	Deaths per 10,000 of the population aged 16 to 64	2002	England
[x]	Active enterprises per 10,000 of the population aged 16 to 64	2002	England
[x]	Births	2002	North East

Showing 1 to 25 of 7,728 rows

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Metadata

The metadata for this dataset is not included when you download the data. You can download this separately. This contains all the information from the 'About this dataset' tab.

Next update expected:December 2026

Updates

• 22nd January 2026:

  Updated the 'About this dataset' section to reflect the most recent year of population data available.

• 3rd December 2025:

  Routine update to add new data and amend existing data where needed.

• 24th September 2025: Dataset first published.

Main information

• Designation: Accredited official statistics
• Data provider 1: Office for National Statistics (ONS)
• Data source 1: Mid-year population estimates
• Data provider 2: Office for National Statistics (ONS)
• Data source 2: Business demography
• Time period covered: January 2002 to December 2024
• Dataset ID: f2dc5994-cf29-4cb7-b692-360b87a85c71

Overview

• Summary of dataset and variables:

  This dataset details business births, deaths and active enterprises by measure, area and year.

  Active enterprises are businesses that had either turnover or employment at any time during the reference period (December to December).

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

  A death is defined as a business that was on the active file in year t but no longer present on the active file for year t+1 or t+2. To produce more timely statistics, the UK business demography statistics contain a preliminary death indicator, which includes an adjustment for estimated reactivations. Reactivations occur where a business becomes dormant for a period of less than 2 years, then recommences activity in a manner which complies with a definition of continuity. If the definition of continuity is not met (e.g. if a business recommences activity but at a different location and with a different activity), this would be considered a death followed by a birth. Reactivations can also occur due to lags in the administrative data source (VAT/PAYE) so that a business that continues to trade can appear to die. The deaths data exclude losses to the population as a result of mergers, break-ups, split-offs or other re-structuring.

• Data collection or calculation:

  ONS use data from the IDBR to produce business demography statistics, using guidelines found in the Eurostat/OECD manual on Business Demography. The starting point for demography is the concept of a population of active businesses in a reference year. These are defined as businesses that had either turnover or employment at any time during the reference period. Births and deaths are then identified by comparing active populations for different years.

  Birth and death rates are calculated as a percentage of active enterprises.

  Births, deaths and active enterprises per 10,000 of the population aged 16 to 64 are calculated using ONS' population estimates, which are currently available up to 2024.

• Statistical quality:

  Totals may differ slightly between the area and industry breakdowns due to the disclosure control methods used.

  Please note, levels for Welsh economic regions and all rates (including per 10,000 population figures) have been calculated using the rounded figures, published by the Office for National Statistics.

  The latest two years' estimates on deaths are subject to revision, which would normally be made in the following year's publication.

• Rounding applied:

  Business births, deaths and active enterprises have been rounded to the nearest 5, rates are rounded to 1 decimal place, and per 10,000 population to the nearest whole number.

• Related reports:
  • Welsh Government - Business demography (English)
  • Welsh Government - Business demography (Welsh)
  • ONS - Business demography (English)
  • ONS - Business demography quality and methodology information (English)

Published by

• Organisation: Welsh Government
• Contact email: economic.stats@gov.wales