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 Value Added Tax (VAT) and/or Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) registered businesses operating in Northern Ireland in 2025 is estimated to have risen by 1,090 (1.4%) since March 2024 to 81,135. This marked the eleventh consecutive year of increase following a period of decline from 2008 to 2014.
- All four headline industries saw an increase in the number of businesses since 2024. The number of businesses in Production increased by 135 businesses (2.5%), which followed two consecutive years of decline. The number of businesses in Services increased by 1.6% (725), whilst the number of businesses in Construction (11,470) is the highest it has been since 2010.
- Since 2015, the total number of registered businesses operating in Northern Ireland has increased by 13,050 (19%). More than half (58%) of this increase occurred in Services, which amounted to 7,565 businesses.
- The geographical spread of businesses across the 11 Local Government Districts (LGDs) in Northern Ireland remained relatively unchanged, with Belfast having the highest number of businesses (11,815 or 14.6%) and, Antrim and Newtownabbey with the lowest number of businesses (4,340 or 5.3%).
- Of those businesses operating in Northern Ireland, 2.9% (2,325) were owned by an enterprise registered outside Northern Ireland. These businesses accounted for 24% of employees. The number of non-locally owned businesses operating in Northern Ireland has increased by 45% over the 10 years since 2015. Their number of employees increased by 13% over the same period.
- 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
