How many enterprises are active in Ireland?
The total number of active enterprises in the Irish business economy is 401,359 (2023). This is up 3.0% from 2022 (389,654), and nearly double the figure from 2010. Below is a breakdown of this number by business size, sector, region, and recent trends.
Data source: Central Statistics Office (CSO) Ireland, Business Demography register, based on data from the Revenue Commissioners.
Number of enterprises by size (SME category)
Irish statistics classify businesses not by legal form (as in the UK — sole trader / partnership / LTD) but by number of persons employed. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs, fewer than 250 persons employed) make up the overwhelming majority of the Irish economy:
| Category | Employees | Enterprises | Share | Persons employed | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Micro | < 10 | 371,480 | 92.6% | 629,956 | 26.9% |
| Small | 10–49 | 24,282 | 6.0% | 482,259 | 20.6% |
| Medium | 50–249 | 4,662 | 1.2% | 455,795 | 19.4% |
| All SMEs | < 250 | 400,424 | 99.8% | 1,568,010 | 66.9% |
| Large | 250+ | 935 | 0.2% | 777,447 | 33.1% |
| Total | — | 401,359 | 100% | 2,345,457 | 100% |
| Employee size band | Enterprises | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under 10 (micro) | 371,480 | 92.6% |
| 10–19 | 14,861 | 3.7% |
| 20–49 | 9,421 | 2.3% |
| 50–249 | 4,662 | 1.2% |
| 250 and over | 935 | 0.2% |
Turnover and value added: SMEs vs. large enterprises
In the structural business statistics for 2022 (the latest year with available turnover data), the picture looks like this:
| Enterprises | Employment | Turnover | GVA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SMEs (< 250 employees) | 99.8% | 67.9% | 43.1% | 40.6% |
| Large (250+ employees) | 0.2% | 32.1% | 56.9% | 59.4% |
Although large enterprises are only 1 in every 500 companies, they account for more than half of all turnover and value added in Ireland's business economy. Total turnover of Ireland's structural business economy in 2022 was €1,288.7 billion, with gross value added (GVA) of €424.2 billion.
Distribution by industry
The "Other Services" sector (transportation & storage, accommodation & food, IT, healthcare, arts, and more) is the largest by number of enterprises in Ireland, accounting for 57.4% of all active companies. Construction ranks second at 20.2%.
| Industry (NACE) | Enterprises | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Total business economy (B–S, excl. O, S94) | 401,359 | 2,345,457 |
| Mining & quarrying (B) | 494 | 3,415 |
| Manufacturing (C) | 19,416 | 272,438 |
| Electricity, gas, steam, AC supply (D) | 970 | 13,345 |
| Water supply, sewerage, waste (E) | 1,136 | 11,232 |
| Construction (F) | 81,043 | 206,446 |
| Wholesale & retail trade, motor repair (G) | 49,178 | 419,705 |
| Transportation & storage (H) | 25,544 | 113,827 |
| Accommodation & food service (I) | 20,941 | 243,192 |
| Information & communication (J) | 19,810 | 150,301 |
| Financial & insurance activities (K) | 18,570 | 134,477 |
| Real estate activities (L) | 19,036 | 39,093 |
| Professional, scientific & technical (M) | 53,003 | 219,316 |
| Administrative & support services (N) | 21,516 | 189,255 |
| Education (P) | 13,359 | 67,899 |
| Human health & social work (Q) | 23,584 | 170,772 |
| Arts, entertainment & recreation (R) | 14,382 | 44,302 |
| Other services (S, excl. S94) | 19,377 | 46,442 |
| Broad sector | Share of enterprises | Share of employment |
|---|---|---|
| Other Services | 57.4% | 54.8% |
| Construction | 20.2% | 8.8% |
| Wholesale & Retail Trade | 12.3% | 17.9% |
| Industry | 5.5% | 12.8% |
| Financial & Insurance Activities | 4.6% | 5.7% |
The fastest-growing sector by enterprise count was Electricity, Gas, Steam & Air Conditioning Supply (+11.1%), while Wholesale & Retail Trade was the only sector to see a decline in enterprise numbers (‑0.2%).
Distribution by region (county)
CSO publishes county-level data based on the address at which an enterprise is registered with Revenue, rather than its actual place of operation — large companies with multiple offices are typically counted against the county of their head office.
| County | Active enterprises | Annual growth |
|---|---|---|
| Dublin | 136,809 | +3.9% |
| Cork | 42,176 | +3.2% |
| Laois (largest growth) | — | +4.5% |
| Kildare | — | +4.4% |
| Longford | 2,755 | — |
| Leitrim (smallest total & growth) | 2,667 | +1.1% |
Dublin and Cork together account for 44.6% of all enterprises in the country. All 26 Irish counties saw growth in enterprise numbers in 2023 — unlike the UK, where regional trends move in different directions.
Historical trends
The number of active enterprises in Ireland has grown steadily over the past decade, aside from a downturn during the financial crisis:
Employment in the business economy also grew, from 2.07 million people in 2021 to 2.35 million in 2023.
Business births and deaths
In 2023, 47,542 new enterprises were registered — almost identical to 2022 (47,540). That works out to a birth rate of roughly 11.8% of all active enterprises.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| New enterprises, 2023 | 47,542 |
| Share micro among new enterprises | 98.7% |
| Employment in newly born enterprises, 2023 | 73,751 (‑6.4%) |
| Enterprise closures, 2022 (latest) | 32,540 (+13.2%) |
| Employment in closed enterprises, 2022 | 46,446 (+14.3%) |
The Other Services sector leads both in new business formation (57.5% of births) and closures (55.9% of deaths) — unsurprising given it accounts for 57.4% of the entire economy.
Enterprise survival rates
CSO tracks the fate of new enterprises for five years after registration. Of the enterprises founded in 2018, only 47.6% were still active by 2023.
| Founding year | 1 yr | 2 yrs | 3 yrs | 4 yrs | 5 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 78.1% | 72.3% | 57.7% | 52.4% | 47.6% |
| 2019 | 81.3% | 68.7% | 61.7% | 55.6% | — |
| 2020 | 79.9% | 68.6% | 59.8% | — | — |
| 2021 | 78.0% | 63.5% | — | — | — |
| 2022 | 79.8% | — | — | — | — |
Two-year survival rates have declined steadily year over year — from 72.3% for enterprises founded in 2018 to 63.5% for those founded in 2021.
