Inter Departmental Business Register

Details and background of the IDBR, which contains information on all businesses in the UK which are VAT registered or operating a PAYE scheme.

Key Results

The number of Value Added Tax (VAT) and/or Pay As You Earn (PAYE) registered businesses operating in Northern Ireland in 2019 was estimated to have risen by 1,430 (1.9%) since 2018 to 75,490. This marked the fourth consecutive year of increase following a period of decline from 2008 to 2014.
The largest increases in the number of businesses over the year were in the construction (300 businesses) and agriculture, forestry and fishing industries (235).
All District Council areas in Northern Ireland saw an increase in the number of businesses. Derry City and Strabane saw the largest increase in percentage terms (2.7%) whilst Newry, Mourne and Down saw the largest actual increase with 225 more businesses, which amounts to an increase of 2.6%. Antrim and Newtownabbey saw the smallest growth (70 businesses).
Of the 75,490 businesses operating in Northern Ireland in 2019, 2.5% were non-Northern Ireland owned. However, these businesses accounted for almost one quarter (24%) of employees.
The Business Demography Northern Ireland 2018 results estimate that a total of 5,900 businesses were newly registered on the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) in Northern Ireland over the year to December 2018. This amounts to a birth rate (proportion of active businesses) of 9.6%.
Estimates show that there were 4,855 business deaths (businesses deregistered from the IDBR) in Northern Ireland over the year to December 2018. This is a decrease of 10 businesses on the previous year and amounts to a death rate of 7.9%.
Northern Ireland births and deaths account for 1.6% and 1.4% respectively of the total UK births and deaths.