Which UK region has the most businesses per person?

London has the highest business density in the UK, 1,436 businesses per 10,000 resident adults, according to ONS/DBT Business Population Estimates.

Which UK region has the fewest businesses per person?

Wales has the lowest business density, 742 businesses per 10,000 resident adults, roughly 1.94 times lower than London.

Why does London have so many more businesses per person?

London combines a large working-age population, high concentrations of professional services, freelancers and sole traders, and a much higher share of very small, no-employee businesses than most other regions. Higher average incomes and business costs both push more people toward self-employment and small-scale trading.

Does business density measure economic success?

Not directly. It measures how many businesses exist relative to the adult population, not their size, profitability or survival rate. A region can have high density with many small, marginal businesses, or lower density with fewer but larger employers. Density is best read alongside employment and turnover figures for a fuller regional picture.

Where does this data come from?

Business Population Estimates for the UK and regions, published annually by the Department for Business and Trade using ONS data. Density is calculated against ONS mid-year resident adult population estimates. Both are Open Government Licence v3.0.

UK Business Density Map

Where Britain's small businesses actually are

Every UK region and nation ranked by businesses per 10,000 resident adults, from official Business Population Estimates (start of 2025).

Speak to an accountant Download the data (CSV)

Key findings

1,020

UK average, per 10,000 adults

London

highest density (1,436/10k)

Wales

lowest density (742/10k)

1.94x

gap between highest and lowest

London has 1,436 businesses per 10,000 adults, the highest of any UK region, 1.94 times the rate in Wales (742 per 10,000).
The UK average is 1,020 businesses per 10,000 adults, from a total of 5,690,265 private sector businesses.
Every region has a broadly similar employment size mix (around three-quarters of businesses employing nobody but the owner), so density differences are mainly about how many businesses exist per head, not how large they are.

Source: Business Population Estimates for the UK and regions (Open Government Licence v3.0). Figures may be cited with attribution to Holloway Davies.

Business density by region

Businesses per 10,000 resident adults, ranked from highest to lowest. This is the standard density measure: it accounts for population size, so large and small regions can be compared directly.

London1,436

South West1,163

South East1,135

East of England1,102

East Midlands984

West Midlands918

Northern Ireland905

Yorkshire and the Humber895

North West823

Scotland786

North East744

Wales742

Note: Source: Business Population Estimates for the UK and regions, Department for Business and Trade / ONS (Open Government Licence v3.0)

Regional detail

Region	Businesses	Per 10k adults	% zero-employee
London	1,041,565	1,436	75.2%
South West	562,390	1,163	78.1%
South East	876,625	1,135	76.5%
East of England	578,755	1,102	75.8%
East Midlands	402,475	984	76.1%
West Midlands	450,770	918	74.1%
Northern Ireland	138,735	905	71.9%
Yorkshire and the Humber	408,380	895	74.3%
North West	508,785	823	71.8%
Scotland	361,075	786	73.9%
North East	166,510	744	75.4%
Wales	194,200	742	71.8%

Note: Source: Business Population Estimates for the UK and regions, Department for Business and Trade / ONS (Open Government Licence v3.0)

Methodology and sources

Data source. Business Population Estimates for the UK and regions (Table 8, businesses per 10,000 resident adults by region; Table 9, regional size summary), published annually by the Department for Business and Trade.

Density calculation. Businesses per 10,000 resident adults aged 16 and over, using ONS mid-year population estimates as the denominator. This is the official published rate, not independently recalculated by us.

Caveats. Figures are for the whole private sector (companies, sole proprietorships and partnerships) at start of 2025. Density does not capture business size, turnover, or survival; a region can be dense with many small, marginal businesses.

Business Population Estimates for the UK and regions -- Tables 8 and 9 (Department for Business and Trade / Office for National Statistics)

Download the regional density data (CSV)

Free to cite and republish with attribution to Holloway Davies, under the Open Government Licence v3.0 terms of the underlying release. This page is a data summary and does not constitute financial or business advice.

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