Business demography: 2021

On 24 January 2023, the StatsWales tables for business births, deaths and active enterprises by industry was updated to include the latest data (2021).

The most recent data in this report is for 2021. Comparisons to the previous year are likely to be impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Main points

The total number of enterprises active in Wales during 2021 was 105,815. This was an increase of 3,725 enterprises (3.6%) compared to 2020.

There were 13,945 enterprise births in Wales during 2021, which is a rate of 13.2%. In comparison, the UK business birth rate was 12.4%.

The business birth rate for Wales in 2021 was the highest since records began in 2010. This follows the lowest business birth rate since 2012 seen in 2020 (11.2%), likely contributed to by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

There were 12,145 enterprise deaths in Wales during 2021, which is a rate of 11.5%. In comparison, the UK death rate was 11.1%.

The 5 year survival rate for enterprises born in 2016 and still active in 2021 for Wales was 40.3%, slightly above the UK survival rate of 38.4%. The highest 5 year survival rate was in Northern Ireland (47.3%), whilst the lowest was in the East of England (33.9%).

The 1 year survival rate for enterprises born in 2020 and still active in 2021 for Wales was 92.5%, slightly below the UK survival rate of 92.9%. Wales had the third lowest 1 year survival rate amongst the 12 UK countries and English regions. The highest 1 year survival rate was in the East Midlands (93.8%), and the lowest was in the South East (90.9%).

Additional industry breakdowns published in January 2023

• The construction industry continued to have the most active enterprises (15,960) within Wales, in 2021.
• Transport & storage had the most Welsh businesses born in 2021 (2,585).

Note

Rates calculated as percentage of stock.