Northern Ireland Inter-Departmental Business Register Statistics, 2026

Date published: 10 June 2026

The IDBR details all businesses that are registered for Value Added Tax (VAT) and/or operating a Pay As You Earn (PAYE) scheme in the UK.  The IDBR covers most of the economy including the Agriculture, Production, Construction and Service sectors.  It does not hold details on those small businesses that fall below the VAT threshold (£90,000 in 2025/2026) and do not operate a PAYE scheme.

A snapshot of the IDBR is taken in March each year to produce statistics on the number of businesses operating in Northern Ireland.  These statistics are presented in the Northern Ireland IDBR report and associated tables include industry, size, legal status, location, and foreign ownership data.  Information on foreign owned businesses operating in the UK is obtained by the Office for National Statistics from Dun and Bradstreet, a market information company.

Key points

Key points from the 2026 Northern Ireland Inter-Departmental Business Register bulletin are listed below.

The number of businesses operating in Northern Ireland increased by 1.9% over the year to March 2026.

• The number of VAT and/or PAYE registered businesses operating in Northern Ireland has risen by 1,545 (1.9%) to 82,680.  This marked the twelfth consecutive year of increase following a period of decline from 2008 to 2014.

Most businesses in Northern Ireland were micro-sized businesses.

• In March 2026, most businesses (89.4% or 73,880) in Northern Ireland were micro-sized businesses (less than 10 employees).  Businesses with 50 or more employees accounted for 2.1% of businesses (1,765).
• Nearly four in 10 businesses in Northern Ireland (38.5% or 31,830) had a turnover of less than £100,000, whilst 13.1% (10,870) had a turnover over £1 million.

Construction saw the largest growth in percentage terms of the four headline industries over the year to 2026.

• All four headline industries saw an increase in the number of businesses since 2025. The number of businesses in Construction increased by 2.7% (975) to 11,785, which is the highest since the series began in 2010.
• The largest absolute growth was in Services (975 businesses or 2.2%), with Agriculture seeing growth for the fifth consecutive year (215 businesses or 1.1%). The number of businesses in Production saw a small increase of 35 businesses, or 0.6%. 

The geographical spread of businesses across the 11 Local Government Districts (LGDs) remained relatively unchanged, with Belfast (14.6%) making up the highest proportion and Antrim and Newtownabbey (5.4%) the lowest.

• All 11 LGDs across Northern Ireland saw an increase in the total number of businesses in the year up to March 2026. The largest growth in percentage terms was seen in Ards & North Down (2.9% or 140 businesses). Derry City & Strabane saw both the smallest percentage and absolute growth of all LGDs, increasing by 0.3% or 15 business. This contrasts with 2025 when it had the largest percentage growth of all the LGDs. The largest absolute change was witnessed in Belfast (285 businesses or 2.4%).
• Belfast remained the LGD with the most businesses (12,100), accounting for 14.6% of all VAT and/or PAYE registered businesses operating in Northern Ireland in 2026.  The most recent Business Register and Employment Survey (2023) showed that 30.2% of all employee jobs across Northern Ireland were based in the Belfast LGD.

Of the 82,680 businesses operating in Northern Ireland, 2,325 (2.8%) were non‑NI owned.

• The number of registered businesses operating in Northern Ireland, owned by an enterprise registered outside of Northern Ireland, accounted for 2.8% of the business population and just under one-quarter (24.3%) of employees.
• Non-Northern Irish-owned businesses increased by 18.0% (355) over the five years to 2026. The number of employees working within these enterprises increased markedly by 9.6% (17,660) over the same period.