Data / Enterprise deaths / United Kingdom

Enterprise deaths in United Kingdom

Enterprise deaths in the United Kingdom was 280,370 in 2024, according to the Office for National Statistics (United Kingdom). That is down 9.5% from 2023.

2024, count280,370 Provisional
Change on 2023-9.5%
Series high348,6752022
Series low280,3702024

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Enterprise deaths in United Kingdom, 2019 to 2024

280K300K320K340K360K2019202020212022202320242019: 303,495 count2020: 300,475 count2021: 328,495 count2022: 348,675 count2023: 309,680 count2024: 280,370 count280K300K320K340K360K2019202120242019: 303,495 count2020: 300,475 count2021: 328,495 count2022: 348,675 count2023: 309,680 count2024: 280,370 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
2024280,370 Provisional
2023309,680 Provisional
2022348,675
2021328,495
2020300,475
2019303,495

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, United Kingdom, 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, United Kingdom, 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/united-kingdom. 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, United Kingdom, 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/united-kingdom.

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, United Kingdom, 2019 to 2024 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/activitysizeandlocation/datasets/businessdemographyreferencetable, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/en/enterprise-deaths/united-kingdom (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{office_enterprise_deaths_united_kingdom_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, United Kingdom, 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/united-kingdom. 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, United Kingdom, 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/united-kingdom
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/enterprise-deaths/united-kingdom.
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 United Kingdom?

Enterprise deaths in the United Kingdom was 280,370 in 2024, according to the Office for National Statistics (United Kingdom). That is down 9.5% 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 United Kingdom?

348,675 in 2022, the highest value since 2019 in this series.

Related statistics for United Kingdom

All statistics for United Kingdom | United Kingdom in figures