Businesses in Scotland: 2022

Time Trends

As at March 2022, there were an estimated 360,910 private sector businesses operating in Scotland. This is the second highest number of businesses in the time series back to 2000. Only the number in March 2020 was higher. Between 2000 and 2022, the estimated total number of businesses increased by 51.7%. This is an increase of 123,015 businesses. A rise in the number of unregistered businesses drove this increase over the long term. Unregistered businesses have more than doubled (up 108.2%, +96,510 businesses) since 2000. The number of registered businesses have also increased over this period. Registered businesses increased by 17.8% (+26,510 businesses). Chart 2 below shows this.

Chart 2: Private sector businesses operating in Scotland, 2000 to 2022

The total number of private sector businesses in Scotland increased by 5.2% over the latest year. This was an increase of 17,905 businesses. Despite some fluctuation from year to year, the number of private sector businesses has remained relatively stable since 2015.

Time Trends – Unregistered Businesses

The number of unregistered businesses in Scotland increased over the latest year. Unregistered businesses are those registered neither for VAT nor for PAYE. This increase drove the rise in the total number of private sector businesses. The number of unregistered businesses increased from 165,890 as at March 2021 to 185,740 as at March 2022. This is a rise of 19,850 unregistered businesses, or 12.0%.

Time Trends – Registered Businesses

The number of registered businesses in Scotland decreased over the latest year. Registered businesses are those that have registered for VAT and/or PAYE. The number of registered businesses reduced from 177,115 as at March 2021 to 175,175 as at March 2022. This is a fall of 1,940 businesses, or 1.1%. This is the second year running to show a decrease in the number of registered businesses. Prior to 2021, the registered business stock generally increased each year between 2011 and 2020.

Chart 3: Private sector registered businesses, 2000 to 2022

The number of small registered businesses (0 to 49 employees) decreased over the latest year by 1.1%. This is a reduction of 1,890 businesses. This decrease was entirely in non-employing small registered businesses (i.e. 0 employees). This was a drop of 4.5% (-3,110 businesses). The number of small employers (i.e. 1 to 49 employees) increased by 1.2%. This was a rise of 1,220 businesses. Looking over the longer term, there has been an increase of 25,935 small registered businesses since 2000 (an increase of 18.1%).

The number of medium-sized businesses (50 to 249 employees) decreased slightly over the latest year. A reduction of 10 businesses since March 2021 brought the number of medium-sized businesses to 3,835.  The longer term trend is in contrast to this. There has been an increase of 14.5% in the number of medium-sized businesses since 2000. This is a rise of 485 businesses.

The number of large businesses (250 or more employees) also decreased over the latest year. A reduction of 35 businesses since March 2021 brought the number of large businesses to 2,340. Again, the longer term trend contrasts with this. There has been an increase in the number of large businesses – with an increase of 95 businesses since 2000 (+4.2%).

The number of employing private sector businesses in Scotland increased since March 2021. These are businesses with at least one employee (i.e. employers). The number of employers increased by 1.1% from 108,270 in March 2021 to 109,435 in March 2022. This is a rise of 1,165 businesses.