Small Business Survey Scotland: 2022-2023

Business Demographics

• 63 per cent of SME employers were urban-based while 37 per cent were rural-based. Urban/rural locations are based on the Scottish Government Urban Rural Classification 2020 
• 25 per cent of SME employers were home-based and without external business premises
• 22 per cent of SME employers were women-led (defined as a business with the majority of the combined total number of owners, partners and directors being female), while 21 per cent were equally led by both men and women and 10 per cent had women in the minority. Furthermore, 20 per cent of the SMEs were more than half owned by women. 52 per cent were male-led and 42 per cent were entirely male-led
• 78 per cent of SME employers were family majority-owned
• 5 per cent of SME employers were Minority Ethnic Group (MEG)-led (defined as a business with the majority of the combined total number of owners, partners and directors being of an ethnic minority background)