Data / Enterprise deaths / Scotland

Enterprise deaths in Scotland

Enterprise deaths in Scotland was 16,140 in 2024, according to the Office for National Statistics (United Kingdom). That is down 7.1% from 2023.

2024, count16,140 Provisional
Change on 2023-7.1%
Series high19,9252022
Series low16,1402024

Next release: Friday, 15 January 2027, estimated by Invokely from past publication dates (low confidence), not announced by the publisher. Release calendar

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Enterprise deaths in Scotland, 2019 to 2024

16K17K18K19K20K2019202020212022202320242019: 18,310 count2020: 18,270 count2021: 19,785 count2022: 19,925 count2023: 17,370 count2024: 16,140 count16K17K18K19K20K2019202120242019: 18,310 count2020: 18,270 count2021: 19,785 count2022: 19,925 count2023: 17,370 count2024: 16,140 count
count. Source: Office for National Statistics, Business demography, UK, Tables 2.1a to 2.1d: count of deaths of enterprises by district, county and unitary authority within region and country. Retrieved 2026-10-12, published 2026-01-15.
All 6 values
Periodcount
202416,140 Provisional
202317,370 Provisional
202219,925
202119,785
202018,270
201918,310

Compared with United Kingdom

Place2024
Scotland16,140
United Kingdom280,370

Scotland compared with nearby places

North East: 7,850 countNorth West: 29,725 countYorkshire and The Humber: 20,375 countEast Midlands: 19,280 countWest Midlands: 24,255 countEast of England: 26,550 countLondon: 61,245 countSouth East: 39,200 countSouth West: 21,250 countNorthern Ireland: 4,790 countScotland: 16,140 countWales: 9,710 count
  • Under 11K
  • 11K to 20K
  • 20K to 23K
  • 23K to 29K
  • 29K and over
Enterprise deaths, 2024, count. Scotland 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 stopped trading during the year and were not reactivated within two years. Enterprises absorbed by a merger or a takeover are not deaths.

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). A death is not an insolvency: most enterprises that close do so without a formal insolvency procedure. The latest years are estimated from expected reactivations and are provisional.

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How to cite

Office for National Statistics. Business demography, UK, Tables 2.1a to 2.1d: count of deaths of 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 2.1a to 2.1d: count of deaths of enterprises by district, county and unitary authority within region and country (Enterprise deaths, Scotland, 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 2.1a to 2.1d: count of deaths of enterprises by district, county and unitary authority within region and country, Enterprise deaths, Scotland, 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/enterprise-deaths/scotland-uk. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Office for National Statistics (United Kingdom). 2026. Business demography, UK, Tables 2.1a to 2.1d: count of deaths of enterprises by district, county and unitary authority within region and country. Enterprise deaths, Scotland, 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/enterprise-deaths/scotland-uk.

Harvard

Office for National Statistics (United Kingdom) (2026) Business demography, UK, Tables 2.1a to 2.1d: count of deaths of enterprises by district, county and unitary authority within region and country, Enterprise deaths, Scotland, 2019 to 2024 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/activitysizeandlocation/datasets/businessdemographyreferencetable, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/en/enterprise-deaths/scotland-uk (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{office_enterprise_deaths_scotland_2024,
  author = {{Office for National Statistics (United Kingdom)}},
  title = {{Business demography, UK, Tables 2.1a to 2.1d: count of deaths of enterprises by district, county and unitary authority within region and country: Enterprise deaths, Scotland, 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/enterprise-deaths/scotland-uk. Publisher attribution: Office for National Statistics. Business demography, UK, Tables 2.1a to 2.1d: count of deaths of 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 2.1a to 2.1d: count of deaths of enterprises by district, county and unitary authority within region and country: Enterprise deaths, Scotland, 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/enterprise-deaths/scotland-uk
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/enterprise-deaths/scotland-uk.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Office for National Statistics. Business demography, UK, Tables 2.1a to 2.1d: count of deaths of 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 enterprise deaths in Scotland?

Enterprise deaths in Scotland was 16,140 in 2024, according to the Office for National Statistics (United Kingdom). That is down 7.1% from 2023.

Where does this figure come from?

Office for National Statistics (United Kingdom). Business demography, UK, Tables 2.1a to 2.1d: count of deaths of enterprises by district, county and unitary authority within region and country. Retrieved by Invokely on 2026-10-12.

What was the highest enterprise deaths in Scotland?

19,925 in 2022, the highest value since 2019 in this series.

Enterprise deaths elsewhere in United Kingdom

Related statistics for Scotland

All statistics for Scotland | Scotland in figures