Data / Active enterprises / Northern Ireland

Active enterprises in Northern Ireland

Active enterprises in Northern Ireland was 65,710 in 2024, according to the Office for National Statistics (United Kingdom). That is up 1.6% from 2023.

2024, count65,710
Change on 2023+1.6%
Series high65,7102024
Series low61,7302019

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Active enterprises in Northern Ireland, 2019 to 2024

61K62K63K64K65K66K2019202020212022202320242019: 61,730 count2020: 62,325 count2021: 64,670 count2022: 64,745 count2023: 64,705 count2024: 65,710 count61K62K63K64K65K66K2019202120242019: 61,730 count2020: 62,325 count2021: 64,670 count2022: 64,745 count2023: 64,705 count2024: 65,710 count
count. Source: Office for National Statistics, Business demography, UK, Tables 3.1a to 3.1d: count of active enterprises by district, county and unitary authority within region and country. Retrieved 2026-10-12, published 2026-01-15.
All 6 values
Periodcount
202465,710
202364,705
202264,745
202164,670
202062,325
201961,730

Compared with United Kingdom

Place2024
Northern Ireland65,710
United Kingdom2,859,535

Northern Ireland compared with nearby places

North East: 76,590 countNorth West: 283,620 countYorkshire and The Humber: 199,980 countEast Midlands: 188,020 countWest Midlands: 228,545 countEast of England: 285,540 countLondon: 595,280 countSouth East: 431,000 countSouth West: 232,765 countNorthern Ireland: 65,710 countScotland: 172,065 countWales: 100,420 count
  • Under 110K
  • 110K to 190K
  • 190K to 230K
  • 230K to 290K
  • 290K and over
Active enterprises, 2024, count. Northern Ireland is outlined. Same source and period for every area shown. Source: Office for National Statistics (United Kingdom). Boundaries: Office for National Statistics, Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2024.

Rankings

Definition

Enterprises that had turnover or employment at any time during the year, with or without employees.

Counts enterprises, which can run several local units, under the harmonised Eurostat and OECD business demography rules. Not the same as active_companies (the INE business register count for Spain) or employer_firms (US firms with employees). For the UK it counts every enterprise active at some point in the year, so it differs from registered_enterprises_total (UK Business Counts), a snapshot of the register in March.

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How to cite

Office for National Statistics. Business demography, UK, Tables 3.1a to 3.1d: count of active enterprises by district, county and unitary authority within region and country. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/activitysizeandlocation/datasets/businessdemographyreferencetable. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

Office for National Statistics (United Kingdom). (2026). Business demography, UK, Tables 3.1a to 3.1d: count of active enterprises by district, county and unitary authority within region and country (Active enterprises, Northern Ireland, 2019 to 2024) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/activitysizeandlocation/datasets/businessdemographyreferencetable

MLA 9

Business demography, UK, Tables 3.1a to 3.1d: count of active enterprises by district, county and unitary authority within region and country, Active enterprises, Northern Ireland, 2019 to 2024. Office for National Statistics (United Kingdom), 15 Jan. 2026, https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/activitysizeandlocation/datasets/businessdemographyreferencetable. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/active-enterprises/northern-ireland-uk. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Office for National Statistics (United Kingdom). 2026. Business demography, UK, Tables 3.1a to 3.1d: count of active enterprises by district, county and unitary authority within region and country. Active enterprises, Northern Ireland, 2019 to 2024. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/activitysizeandlocation/datasets/businessdemographyreferencetable. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/active-enterprises/northern-ireland-uk.

Harvard

Office for National Statistics (United Kingdom) (2026) Business demography, UK, Tables 3.1a to 3.1d: count of active enterprises by district, county and unitary authority within region and country, Active enterprises, Northern Ireland, 2019 to 2024 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/activitysizeandlocation/datasets/businessdemographyreferencetable, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/en/active-enterprises/northern-ireland-uk (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{office_active_enterprises_northern_ireland_2024,
  author = {{Office for National Statistics (United Kingdom)}},
  title = {{Business demography, UK, Tables 3.1a to 3.1d: count of active enterprises by district, county and unitary authority within region and country: Active enterprises, Northern Ireland, 2019 to 2024}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/activitysizeandlocation/datasets/businessdemographyreferencetable},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/active-enterprises/northern-ireland-uk. Publisher attribution: Office for National Statistics. Business demography, UK, Tables 3.1a to 3.1d: count of active enterprises by district, county and unitary authority within region and country. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/activitysizeandlocation/datasets/businessdemographyreferencetable. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - Office for National Statistics (United Kingdom)
TI  - Business demography, UK, Tables 3.1a to 3.1d: count of active enterprises by district, county and unitary authority within region and country: Active enterprises, Northern Ireland, 2019 to 2024
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/01/15
PB  - Office for National Statistics (United Kingdom)
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/activitysizeandlocation/datasets/businessdemographyreferencetable
L2  - https://invokely.ai/en/active-enterprises/northern-ireland-uk
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/active-enterprises/northern-ireland-uk.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Office for National Statistics. Business demography, UK, Tables 3.1a to 3.1d: count of active enterprises by district, county and unitary authority within region and country. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/activitysizeandlocation/datasets/businessdemographyreferencetable. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

What is the active enterprises in Northern Ireland?

Active enterprises in Northern Ireland was 65,710 in 2024, according to the Office for National Statistics (United Kingdom). That is up 1.6% from 2023.

Where does this figure come from?

Office for National Statistics (United Kingdom). Business demography, UK, Tables 3.1a to 3.1d: count of active enterprises by district, county and unitary authority within region and country. Retrieved by Invokely on 2026-10-12.

What was the highest active enterprises in Northern Ireland?

65,710 in 2024, the highest value since 2019 in this series.

Active enterprises elsewhere in United Kingdom

Related statistics for Northern Ireland

All statistics for Northern Ireland | Northern Ireland in figures