Inter Departmental Business Register
Details and background of the IDBR, which contains information on all businesses in the UK which are VAT registered and/or operating a PAYE scheme.
Key Results
- The number of VAT and/or PAYE registered businesses operating in Northern Ireland in 2024 is estimated to have risen by 810 (1.0%) to 80,045. This marked the tenth consecutive year of increase following a period of decline from 2008 to 2014.
- The number of businesses in the Construction sector (11,375) is the highest it has been since 2010. The Service sector, which remained the largest in Northern Ireland, accounted for 55% of all businesses and grew slightly by 0.9% (395) over the year to March 2024. The number of businesses within Production saw a decline for the second consecutive year, falling slightly by 0.5% (30 businesses).
- The geographical spread of businesses across the 11 district council areas remained relatively unchanged, with Belfast (14%) making up the highest proportion and, Antrim and Newtownabbey (5.4%) the lowest.
- Mid Ulster saw the largest increase in the actual number of registered businesses operating in the area (175 or 1.8%) over the year to 2024, whilst Lisburn and Castlereagh saw the largest decrease (85 or 1.6%) over the same period.
- Of the 80,045 businesses operating in Northern Ireland, 2.8% (2,270 businesses) were owned by an enterprise registered outside of Northern Ireland. These businesses accounted for one-quarter of employees. The number of non-locally owned businesses operating in Northern Ireland has increased by one-fifth over the five years since 2019. The comparable number of employees increased by 10%.
- The Business Demography Northern Ireland 2023 results estimate that 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 business birth rate (proportion of active businesses) of 8.3%.
- There were 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 business death rate of 7.9%.
- The number of business births was greater than the number of business deaths for nine of the eleven district council areas, with Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, and Lisburn and Castlereagh City councils the exceptions.
- The business birth rate is highest for Business administration and support services with the business death rate being highest for the Transport and storage industry.
- Of the four UK regions, Northern Ireland was the only one not to see a drop in its business birth rate since 2022, with it remaining at 8.3%.
- Northern Ireland had the highest five-year survival rate of the four UK regions for registered businesses in 2018.
Current Publications and IDBR Tables
User Consultation
IDBR Background Information
