UK small business statistics 2024

Discover the number of small businesses in the UK and their average turnover.

Small businesses are an essential part of the business landscape, but the recent economic turmoil has threatened their survival. So, what is the current outlook? We explore the latest small business statistics in the UK, including the number of SMEs and how this varies between industries and regions.

We also look at how many new businesses survive the first 5 years, and ways you might improve your chances of success with the best business banking options, among other things.

UK small business statistics: Highlights

  • 99.9% of UK businesses are small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
  • There are 5.5 million SMEs in the UK.
  • The average turnover for a UK SME is £424,617.
  • A third (34%) of UK SMEs are based in London and the South East.
  • SMEs contribute over half (53%) of private sector turnover in the UK.
  • SMEs account for three-fifths (61%) of employment in the UK.

How many SMEs are there in the UK?

The latest figures show there are 5.5 million small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) operating in the UK. SMEs make up more than 99% of the total private sector business population, and the number of SMEs has increased over the last decade.

Over the last decade, the number of SMEs peaked at the start of 2020 and has declined slightly since then. This is likely due to increased challenges for UK businesses during the coronavirus pandemic and then the cost of living crisis.

However, SMEs have consistently made up the majority of private sector businesses in terms of numbers over the past decade, making up more than 99% of the total every year since 2013.

Made with Flourish
Year Number of SMEs
2014 5,236,390
2015 5,382,485
2016 5,490,470
2017 5,687,230
2018 5,660,000
2019 5,860,085
2020 5,972,685
2021 5,583,245
2022 5,501,260
2023 5,547,170

What is the average turnover for a small business?

The average turnover for a UK small business (0-49 employees) is £289,000, considering there are 5.5 million small businesses contributing a turnover of £1.6 trillion.

The average turnover for an SME (0-249) is estimated to be £424,600, as there are 5.5 million SMEs in the UK, and they contribute a total of £2.4 trillion in turnover.

What is the difference between SMEs, small businesses and micro businesses?

The term SME refers to any business that is small or medium-sized. This includes the sub-categories of micro-business, small business and medium-sized businesses. Small businesses have 0-49 employees, while medium businesses have 50-249 employees.

Micro-businesses with 0-9 employees make up the majority of the SME population in the UK, with a total of 95.3%. Interestingly, 74% of SMEs are businesses with no employees. This category includes sole traders and partnerships without any other employees.

Made with Flourish
Business type Percentage
Micro (No employees) 73.82%
Micro (1-9 employees) 21.58%
Small (10-49 employees) 3.94%
Medium (50-249 employees) 0.65%

How much do SMEs contribute to the UK economy?

SMEs contribute over half (53%) of business turnover in the UK and account for three-fifths (61%) of employment in the private sector. UK SME turnover was £2.4 trillion in 2023, and SMEs employed 16.7 million people.

In the last decade, the turnover contributed by SMEs has increased every year except between 2021 and 2022. The number of SMEs also decreased in these years, likely due to the coronavirus pandemic, so it makes sense that the turnover would reduce along with this.

Year SME turnover (billions) Large business turnover (billions)
2014 1,647 1,874
2015 1,754 1,956
2016 1,825 2,036
2017 1,905 1,834
2018 1,994 1,868
2019 2,168 1,981
2020 2,270 2,076
2021 2,310 2,139
2022 2,124 2,032
2023 2,355 2,124

A breakdown of UK SMEs by sector

The most popular sector for SMEs is construction, with over 880,000 businesses operating in this area. This is closely followed by professional, scientific and technical activities, with just over 770,000.

The sector with the lowest number of UK SMEs is production activities. The UK is not currently known to be a hub for production and is known to have a service-based economy, so it makes sense that a relatively low number of SMEs are operating in this area.

Sector Number of businesses
Construction 883,065
Professional, Scientific and Technical 771,285
Wholesale and Retail Trade 547,545
Administrative and Support Service 497,120
Other Service activities 364,280
Human Health and Social Work 342,750
Transportation and Storage 348,115
Information and Communication 318,550
Education 310,095
Arts, Entertainment and Recreation 280,525
Manufacturing 269,425
Accommodation and Food 225,550
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing 146,420
Real estate 146,100
Financial and Insurance 80,130
Production 24,165

A breakdown of UK SMEs by region

Unsurprisingly, the majority of small businesses are based in London and the South East, and these 2 regions combined account for a third (34%) of all SMEs in the UK – 1.9 million businesses. Northern Ireland has the lowest number of SMEs at just 122,000, closely followed by Wales with 219,000.

Made with Flourish
Region Number of SMEs 2023
London 1,049,000
South East 852,000
East of England 569,000
North West 545,000
South West 524,000
West Midlands 448,000
Yorkshire and the Humber 389,000
East Midlands 382,000
North East 156,000
Scotland 298,000
Wales 219,000
Northern Ireland 122,000

How many women-led SMEs are there?

In 2022, 18% of SMEs with employees were led by a woman or a majority-female management team, which is just over 1 million businesses. This is a much lower percentage than FTSE100 companies, where women occupied 42.6% of directorships as of 2023.

How many minority ethnic group-led SMEs are there?

In 2022, just 6% of SMEs with employees in England were led by someone from a minority ethnic group (MEG), which equals around 335,000 businesses. The sector with the highest percentage of MEG leaders was IT communications (9%), while London is the region with the highest number of SME leaders from minority ethnic groups.

Click here for more research. For all media enquiries, please contact –

Matt Mckenna
UK Head of Communications
T: +44 20 8191 8806

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