Small Business Owner Statistics Updated November 2026

Human Written & Fact Checked · Updated

250 Small Business Owner Statistics for 2026

The United States has 36,207,130 small businesses on the SBA Office of Advocacy's count, which treats any independent business with fewer than 500 employees as small and includes firms with no staff at all (2022 data). They employ 62.3 million people, 45.9% of private sector employees. In October 2026 Americans filed 501,609 applications for a business tax ID, and 78.9% of the establishments that opened in the year to March 2025 were still open a year later.

This page gathers the primary figures on small businesses and the people who own them: how many there are, how many start and how many survive, who the owners are, how they fund themselves, what worries them, what staff benefits cost and how they use AI. The main market is the US. The UK has its own section, and the EU, Canada and Australia share one.

"Small business" has no single definition. The SBA draws the line at 500 employees and the BLS job creation series at 249. The Federal Reserve Banks survey employer firms with 1 to 499 employees, and KFF surveys firms with 10 or more workers. The UK and the EU call a business small at up to 49 people and an SME at up to 249, Canada stops at 99 employees and Australia at fewer than 20. We name the producer and the cut-off for every figure and never add figures on different cut-offs together or put them in one chart.

Headline figures

How many small businesses are there in the US?

Tens of millions, and most of them have no employees. The SBA Office of Advocacy counts every independent business with fewer than 500 employees as small, so its total is dominated by one-person firms.

  • No employees (29,811,495 firms) 82.3%
  • Paid employees (6,395,635 firms) 17.7%
US small businesses (fewer than 500 employees) split into firms with and without paid employees, 2022 data, on the SBA Office of Advocacy's count. (SBA Office of Advocacy (small business FAQ 2026), Feb 2026)

The SBA figure counts small businesses only (fewer than 500 employees) and refers to 2022. The Census Bureau figure counts businesses of every size and refers to 2023. They are two different counts, so no difference or share should be worked out from them.

How much of the US economy do small businesses account for?

Almost every firm is small, but small firms hold less than half of private sector jobs, payroll and receipts. That is on the SBA's cut-off of fewer than 500 employees.

  1. 1 All firms 99.9%
  2. 2 Exporters 97.2%
  3. 3 Private sector employees 45.9%
  4. 4 Gross domestic product 43.5%
  5. 5 Private sector payroll 38.7%
  6. 6 Private sector receipts 35.0%
  7. 7 Known export value 33.0%
Share of each US total held by small businesses with fewer than 500 employees, on the SBA Office of Advocacy's list published in February 2026. (SBA Office of Advocacy (small business FAQ 2026), Feb 2026)

The two job creation figures are not the same measure. The SBA figure covers firms with fewer than 500 employees from January 1995 to December 2024. The BLS figure covers firms with 249 or fewer employees from the first quarter of 2021 to the second quarter of 2024. The SBA draws its list of shares from several datasets, so the shares do not all refer to the same year.

How many new businesses start in the US?

Far more people apply for a business tax ID than go on to hire anyone. The Census Bureau counts applications, which are filings and not trading businesses, while the BLS counts new establishments that have employees.

  1. 1 Year to March 2015 677,876
  2. 2 Year to March 2016 732,856
  3. 3 Year to March 2017 733,286
  4. 4 Year to March 2018 733,721
  5. 5 Year to March 2019 770,523
  6. 6 Year to March 2020 767,573
  7. 7 Year to March 2021 839,297
  8. 8 Year to March 2022 1,065,228
  9. 9 Year to March 2023 1,049,106
  10. 10 Year to March 2024 988,310
  11. 11 Year to March 2025 976,437
New US private sector establishments opened in the year ended each March, 2015 to 2025, on the BLS establishment age and survival table. These are establishments with employees, of every size. (BLS (establishment age and survival data), Mar 2026)

A business application is a request for an Employer Identification Number, not a business that has started trading or hired. The BLS and SBA figures count establishments with employees, which are physical locations and not firms, and they are not limited to small businesses.

How many new businesses survive?

Most get through the first year, and the longer a business lasts the better its odds of lasting longer still. The official US measure is the BLS cohort table, which follows establishments with employees from the year they opened.

79.6% 1 68.9% 2 61.4% 3 55.3% 4 50.6% 5 46.7% 6 42.8% 7 39.9% 8 37.6% 9 34.7% 10 32.4% 11 30.3% 12 28.4% 13
View data table
Share of US private sector establishments opened in the year ended March 2013 that were still operating after each number of years, to March 2026, on the BLS cohort table.
PeriodValue
179.6%
268.9%
361.4%
455.3%
550.6%
646.7%
742.8%
839.9%
937.6%
1034.7%
1132.4%
1230.3%
1328.4%
Share of US private sector establishments opened in the year ended March 2013 that were still operating after each number of years, to March 2026, on the BLS cohort table. (BLS (establishment age and survival data), Mar 2026)
  • 770,720 of the US private sector establishments opened in the year ended March 2025 were still operating in March 2026. (BLS (establishment age and survival data), Mar 2026)
  • 396,316 of the 839,297 US private sector establishments opened in the year ended March 2021 were still operating in March 2026, five years later. (BLS (establishment age and survival data), Mar 2026)
  • 34.2% of the 732,856 US private sector establishments opened in the year ended March 2016 were still operating ten years later, in March 2026 (250,661 survivors). (BLS (establishment age and survival data), Mar 2026)
  • One-year survival of US private sector establishments was 79.2% for those opened in the year ended March 2019, 80.9% for the 2020 cohort, 78.2% for the 2023 cohort and 77.7% for the 2024 cohort. (BLS (establishment age and survival data), Mar 2026)
  • Of US private sector establishments opened in the year ended March 2013, 79.6% were operating after one year, 50.6% after five years and 28.4% after 13 years, in March 2026. (BLS (establishment age and survival data), Mar 2026)

Every rate here belongs to one named cohort of establishments with employees, which are locations and not firms, of every size. A closure in these tables is not the same as a failure, and we do not turn survival rates into failure rates.

How does survival differ by sector?

  • Five-year survival of US establishments opened in the year ended March 2021 was 56.3% in accommodation and food services and 55.2% in retail trade, measured in March 2026. (BLS (establishment age and survival data), Mar 2026)
  • Five-year survival of the 2021 cohort of US establishments was 52.8% in construction and 52.1% in health care and social assistance (March 2026). (BLS (establishment age and survival data), Mar 2026)
  • Five-year survival of the 2021 cohort of US establishments was 44.7% in professional, scientific, and technical services, 44.2% in transportation and warehousing and 41.4% in information (March 2026). (BLS (establishment age and survival data), Mar 2026)
  • One-year survival of US establishments opened in the year ended March 2025 was 84.5% in retail trade, 83.3% in health care and social assistance and 79.2% in construction, measured in March 2026. (BLS (establishment age and survival data), Mar 2026)
  • One-year survival of the 2025 cohort of US establishments was 77.3% in transportation and warehousing, 74.7% in professional, scientific, and technical services and 73.3% in information (March 2026). (BLS (establishment age and survival data), Mar 2026)
  • Among US establishments born in March 2013, agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting had what the BLS calls the highest ten-year survival rate, 50.5% still in business in March 2023, and mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction the lowest, 24.5%. (BLS (The Economics Daily, 2013 cohort), Jan 2024)
  • Utilities (45.7%) and manufacturing (43.6%) followed agriculture in ten-year survival among US establishments born in March 2013 (March 2023). (BLS (The Economics Daily, 2013 cohort), Jan 2024)

The sector rates come from the BLS sector files for the cohorts named, and each covers establishments with employees of every size.

How does survival differ by state?

What are the long-run average survival rates?

These are the SBA Office of Advocacy's averages across many cohorts. They sit beside the single-cohort BLS rates above and are not the same measure.

Who owns US businesses?

Men and white owners hold most of them, and the gap is widest among firms with employees. Women and Black and Hispanic owners hold a much larger share of the businesses with no staff. The Census Bureau figures cover businesses of every size in 2023.

  1. 1 White 80.6%
  2. 2 Asian 11.5%
  3. 3 Hispanic 8.4%
  4. 4 Black or African American 3.4%
  5. 5 American Indian or Alaska Native 0.9%
  6. 6 Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0.2%
Share of US employer businesses by race and ethnicity of the owner, 2023, on the Census Bureau's Annual Business Survey. Owners can fall into more than one group, so the shares do not add up to 100%. (US Census Bureau (business owner characteristics 2023), Nov 2025)

What does the SBA's owner table for 2022 show?

The SBA table refers to 2022, a year earlier than the Census Bureau release above, and covers firms of every size. The two sets are not mixed.

How many Americans are self-employed without incorporating?

This household survey counts only the unincorporated self-employed. People who run an incorporated business are classed as wage and salary workers in the table, so it understates the number of business owners.

How do small businesses fund themselves?

Most employer firms apply for financing of some kind, and fewer than half of applicants get everything they ask for. The Federal Reserve Banks' Small Business Credit Survey covers US firms with 1 to 499 employees.

  • Full amount 42%
  • Some or most 36%
  • None 22%
How much of the financing they sought US employer firms with 1 to 499 employees received, as a share of applicants, in the Federal Reserve Banks' 2025 Small Business Credit Survey. (Federal Reserve Banks (SBCS 2026 employer firms report), Mar 2026)

The Small Business Credit Survey is a weighted convenience sample, not a random sample. NFIB surveys its own member firms. The two are reported side by side and are not merged.

How do firms with no employees differ?

How many NFIB members borrow, and at what rate?

How much cash do small businesses hold in reserve?

Not much. Bank account data show that many firms could cover only a few weeks of outgoings if money stopped coming in. Both studies here use one bank's own customer accounts, in different years and samples, so they do not form a trend.

  1. 1 Restaurants 16 days
  2. 2 Repair and maintenance 18 days
  3. 3 Retail 19 days
  4. 4 Construction 20 days
  5. 5 Personal services 21 days
  6. 6 Wholesalers 23 days
  7. 7 Metal and machinery 28 days
  8. 8 Health care services 30 days
  9. 9 High-tech manufacturing 32 days
  10. 10 Other professional services 33 days
  11. 11 High-tech services 33 days
  12. 12 Real estate 47 days
Median cash buffer days of US small businesses by industry, February to October 2015, from JPMorgan Chase Institute's study of the bank's own small business accounts. (JPMorgan Chase Institute (Cash is King), Sep 2016)

Cash buffer days are the days of typical outflows a business could pay from its cash balance if inflows stopped. The 2015 figures are national and the 2020 figures cover 25 metro areas only. The samples differ, so the two are not a before and after.

How confident are small business owners?

Close to the long-run norm, but more unsure than usual about what comes next. NFIB's index of its members sits just under its long-run average, while its uncertainty gauge is well above its own average.

98.2 2021 91.3 2022 90.7 2023 93.7 2024 98.2 2025 97.8 2026
View data table
NFIB Small Business Optimism Index, October reading of each year, 2021 to 2026 (seasonally adjusted, 1986=100). The index comes from NFIB's survey of its own US member firms.
PeriodValue
202198.2
202291.3
202390.7
202493.7
202598.2
202697.8
NFIB Small Business Optimism Index, October reading of each year, 2021 to 2026 (seasonally adjusted, 1986=100). The index comes from NFIB's survey of its own US member firms. (NFIB (Small Business Economic Trends, October 2026), Nov 2026)

These are three separate gauges. NFIB surveys its members, the US Chamber index comes from an Ipsos poll of owners and operators, and the Fed surveys employer firms. Each index has its own scale, so the readings cannot be set against each other.

What is the biggest problem for small business owners?

It depends on who asks and how. NFIB members, asked for their single most important problem, most often name the quality of labour. The US Chamber's poll finds inflation the most cited concern, and the Fed's survey of employer firms finds rising costs the most common financial problem.

  1. 1 Labour quality or availability 25%
  2. 2 Taxes 21%
  3. 3 Inflation 17%
  4. 4 Labour costs 7%
  5. 5 Government regulations and red tape 7%
  6. 6 Cost or availability of insurance 7%
  7. 7 Poor sales 6%
  8. 8 Competition from large businesses 5%
  9. 9 Financing and interest rates 3%
Single most important problem named by US small business owners in NFIB's survey of its member firms, October 2026. Each owner gives one answer. (NFIB (Small Business Economic Trends, October 2026), Nov 2026)

NFIB asks its members for one single most important problem. The US Chamber poll asks its own sample of owners and operators about their biggest concerns. The Fed asks employer firms with 1 to 499 employees which problems they met in the prior 12 months, and firms can name several. The questions differ, so the percentages are not comparable.

What does the US Chamber poll find?

Which financial problems do employer firms report to the Fed?

Which operational problems do employer firms report to the Fed?

What does federal paperwork cost small businesses?

Are small businesses hiring, investing and raising prices?

Many are trying to hire and cannot find the people, and more are raising prices than is usual. The readings come from NFIB's October 2026 survey of its US member firms unless another producer is named.

  1. 1 New equipment 35%
  2. 2 Vehicles 22%
  3. 3 Improved or expanded facilities 15%
  4. 4 New fixtures and furniture 11%
  5. 5 New buildings or land 5%
What NFIB's US small business owners who made capital outlays in the past six months spent on, October 2026, as a share of those making outlays. (NFIB (Small Business Economic Trends, October 2026), Nov 2026)

A net reading is the share of owners reporting a rise minus the share reporting a fall. NFIB surveys its members, the US Chamber figures come from an Ipsos poll, the Fed surveys employer firms and GEM surveys adults who are starting or running a business. Their supply chain and tariff questions differ and are not comparable.

How many small businesses offer health insurance?

Among firms with 10 to 199 workers most do, and the smaller the firm the less likely it is. KFF's employer survey does not cover firms with fewer than 10 workers, so the smallest businesses are missing from its figures.

59% 10 to 24 workers 66% 25 to 49 workers 87% 50 to 199 workers 98% 200 or more workers
View data table
Share of US firms that offer health benefits to at least some workers, by number of workers, 2026, in KFF's Employer Health Benefits Survey.
PeriodValue
10 to 24 workers59%
25 to 49 workers66%
50 to 199 workers87%
200 or more workers98%
Share of US firms that offer health benefits to at least some workers, by number of workers, 2026, in KFF's Employer Health Benefits Survey. (KFF (Employer Health Benefits Survey 2026), Oct 2026)
  • 98% of US firms with 200 or more workers offer health benefits to at least some workers in 2026, in KFF's employer survey. (KFF (Employer Health Benefits Survey 2026), Oct 2026)
  • Among US firms with 10 to 199 workers that do not offer health benefits, 46% say the most important reason is that the cost of insurance is too high and 13% that the firm is too small (2026). (KFF (Employer Health Benefits Survey 2026), Oct 2026)
  • Among US firms with 10 to 199 workers that do not offer health benefits, 10% say employees are covered under another plan, 10% that most employees are part-time or temporary, 8% that employees are not interested and 7% that employees will get a better deal on the health insurance exchanges (2026). (KFF (Employer Health Benefits Survey 2026), Oct 2026)
  • The average annual family premium at US firms with 10 to 199 workers rose from $21,598 in 2021 to $27,288 in 2026, against $28,592 at larger firms in 2026. (KFF (Employer Health Benefits Survey 2026), Oct 2026)
  • Covered workers at US firms with 10 to 199 workers contribute an average of $9,687 a year towards family coverage, against $6,840 at larger firms (2026). (KFF (Employer Health Benefits Survey 2026), Oct 2026)
  • 29% of covered workers at US firms with 10 to 199 workers are in a plan where the employer pays the entire premium for single coverage, against 5% at larger firms (2026). (KFF (Employer Health Benefits Survey 2026), Oct 2026)
  • The average deductible for single coverage is $2,624 for covered workers at small US firms, against $1,772 at larger firms (2026). (KFF (Employer Health Benefits Survey 2026), Oct 2026)
  • 25% of covered workers at US firms with 10 to 199 workers are in a self-funded health plan, against 85% at larger firms and 71% of all covered workers (2026). (KFF (Employer Health Benefits Survey 2026), Oct 2026)
  • 38% of covered workers at US firms with 10 to 199 workers are covered by a level-funded plan (2026). (KFF (Employer Health Benefits Survey 2026), Oct 2026)

KFF surveys employers with 10 or more workers and calls firms with 10 to 199 workers small. The US Chamber figures below come from a poll of small business owners and operators that includes very small firms. The two measure different populations and are not comparable.

What does the US Chamber poll of owners find on benefits?

How many small businesses use AI, and how exposed are they to cyber attacks?

The AI answer depends on the question. The Fed asks employer firms whether the business or its staff use AI at all and finds close to half do. The Census Bureau asks about use in business operations and gets a far lower rate.

  1. 1 Writing or marketing 83%
  2. 2 Individual productivity 61%
  3. 3 Planning or analysis 51%
Most common tasks for which US employer firms with 1 to 499 employees use AI, as a share of firms that use it, in the Federal Reserve Banks' 2025 Small Business Credit Survey. (Federal Reserve Banks (SBCS 2026 employer firms report), Mar 2026)

The Fed figure counts any use by the business or its employees among employer firms with 1 to 499 employees. The Census Bureau survey asks businesses its own question about AI in their operations. The GEM figure is about how important entrepreneurs say AI is, not measured use. The three are different measures.

What does the Census Bureau survey show on AI?

How important do entrepreneurs say AI is?

  • 67% of US entrepreneurs said AI tools are important to their business model and strategy, in the GEM US 2025-2026 survey. (Babson College (GEM US 2025-2026), Mar 2026)

How often are small UK businesses hit by cyber attacks?

The UK survey covers businesses with employees; sole traders are outside its scope. It counts only breaches that a business identified and reported to the survey. Cyber crime is a narrower measure than breaches or attacks.

How many Americans start a business?

A few in every thousand adults each month, and Kauffman says the rate remains above its level before the pandemic. Kauffman counts new business owners from the monthly household survey. The GEM survey asks adults about their own activity and reports a far higher share, because it measures something else.

0.33% 2015 0.31% 2016 0.33% 2017 0.32% 2018 0.31% 2019 0.38% 2020 0.36% 2021 0.37% 2022 0.35% 2023 0.33% 2024 0.36% 2025
View data table
US rate of new entrepreneurs, 2015 to 2025: the monthly average share of adults who became new entrepreneurs, on the Kauffman Foundation's indicator.
PeriodValue
20150.33%
20160.31%
20170.33%
20180.32%
20190.31%
20200.38%
20210.36%
20220.37%
20230.35%
20240.33%
20250.36%
US rate of new entrepreneurs, 2015 to 2025: the monthly average share of adults who became new entrepreneurs, on the Kauffman Foundation's indicator. (Kauffman Foundation (early-stage entrepreneurship 2025), May 2026)

Kauffman's rate is the share of adults who became new entrepreneurs in a given month. GEM's Total Entrepreneurial Activity is the share of adults who say they are engaged in early-stage entrepreneurship. Kauffman's estimate covers adults aged 20 to 64. The two are different measures and are not comparable.

What does the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor show?

  • 18.5% of US adults were engaged in early-stage entrepreneurship in the GEM US 2025-2026 survey of 11,000 adults aged 16 to 64, a level Babson describes as near historic highs. (Babson College (GEM US 2025-2026), Mar 2026)
  • The US rate of established business ownership fell from 10.6% of adults in 2019 to 5.5% in the GEM US 2025-2026 report; GEM counts a business as established at three and a half years old. (Babson College (GEM US 2025-2026), Mar 2026)
  • The rate of early-stage entrepreneurship was greater than 20% among US 18- to 34-year-olds (GEM US 2025-2026). (Babson College (GEM US 2025-2026), Mar 2026)
  • Among US adults closing a business, 23% cited a lack of profitability and 11% an inability to obtain financing (GEM US 2025-2026). (Babson College (GEM US 2025-2026), Mar 2026)
  • 55% of US entrepreneurs relied on personal savings to fund their business (GEM US 2025-2026). (Babson College (GEM US 2025-2026), Mar 2026)

How old are founders?

  • The mean age at founding was 41.9 across the 2.7 million US founders who started companies between 2007 and 2014 that went on to hire at least one employee. (NBER (Working Paper 24489), Apr 2018)
  • The mean founder age for the 1 in 1,000 highest-growth new US ventures was 45.0 (firms founded 2007-2014). (NBER (Working Paper 24489), Apr 2018)

How many small businesses are there in the UK?

Nearly every UK business is small, and about three in four have no employees. The UK counts a business with 0 to 49 employees as small and one with up to 249 as an SME, a much tighter line than the 500 used in the US.

  1. 1 No employees 4,115,175
  2. 2 1 to 9 employees 1,198,870
  3. 3 10 to 49 employees 225,215
  4. 4 50 to 249 employees 39,220
  5. 5 250 or more employees 8,355
UK private sector businesses by number of employees at the start of 2026, on the government's business population estimates. (UK Government (business population estimates 2026), Nov 2026)

The business population estimates are published by the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade and include businesses that are not registered for VAT or PAYE. The UK shares rest on the UK cut-offs and cannot be set against the US figures, which use fewer than 500 employees.

How many UK businesses start, close and survive?

  • UK business births rose from 316,000 in 2023 to 317,000 in 2024, taking the birth rate from 11.0% to 11.1% (businesses registered for VAT or PAYE). (ONS (Business demography, UK: 2024), Nov 2025)
  • UK business deaths fell from 310,000 in 2023 to 280,000 in 2024, taking the death rate from 10.8% to 9.8%, which the ONS calls the lowest death rate since 2016. (ONS (Business demography, UK: 2024), Nov 2025)
  • The UK had 2,860 thousand active businesses registered for VAT or PAYE in 2024, against 2,889 thousand in 2019. (ONS (Business demography, UK: 2024), Nov 2025)
  • UK transport and storage had a business birth rate of 15.6% and a death rate of 16.5% in 2024; accommodation and food services had 14.9% and 12.9%. (ONS (Business demography, UK: 2024), Nov 2025)
  • UK finance and insurance had a business birth rate of 6.6% and a death rate of 6.7% in 2024; property had 10.2% and 6.2%. (ONS (Business demography, UK: 2024), Nov 2025)
  • London had what the ONS calls the highest regional business birth rate in 2024, at 12.7%, and the West Midlands the highest death rate, at 10.6%; Northern Ireland had rates of 9.5% and 7.3%. (ONS (Business demography, UK: 2024), Nov 2025)
  • The five-year survival rate for UK businesses born in 2019 was 38.4%; the ONS names the South West as the region with the highest rate, 43.5%, and the West Midlands as the lowest, 30.6%. (ONS (Business demography, UK: 2024), Nov 2025)
  • 14,330 UK businesses were classed as high-growth in 2024, 4.9% of the 292,000 businesses with 10 or more employees, compared with 13,750 in 2023. (ONS (Business demography, UK: 2024), Nov 2025)

The ONS figures cover only businesses registered for VAT or PAYE, of every size, so they describe a smaller population than the business population estimates above. The UK survival rate follows businesses and the US rate follows establishments with employees, so the two are not comparable.

How many small businesses are there in the EU, Canada and Australia?

Each uses its own cut-off, so the totals cannot be lined up. The EU groups micro and small enterprises at 0 to 49 people employed, Canada calls an employer business small at 1 to 99 employees and Australia at fewer than 20.

  • Micro and small (0 to 49) 48%
  • Medium-sized (50 to 249) 15%
  • Large (more than 249) 37%
People employed in the EU business economy by size of enterprise, 2024, on Eurostat's structural business statistics. Size is measured by people employed, working owners included. (Eurostat (EU businesses in 2024), Sep 2026)
  • There were around 34.0 million enterprises of every size in the EU business economy in 2024, employing 164.5 million people. (Eurostat (EU businesses in 2024), Sep 2026)
  • EU enterprises generated net turnover of over €38.7 trillion in 2024 and €10.9 trillion in value added. (Eurostat (EU businesses in 2024), Sep 2026)
  • Micro and small enterprises (0 to 49 people employed) were 99% of EU enterprises in 2024, employed 48% of people in the business economy and generated 35% of its value added. (Eurostat (EU businesses in 2024), Sep 2026)
  • Medium-sized enterprises (50 to 249 people employed) were 0.8% of EU enterprises in 2024, employed 15% of the workforce and generated 16% of value added. (Eurostat (EU businesses in 2024), Sep 2026)
  • Large enterprises (more than 249 people employed) were 0.2% of EU enterprises in 2024, employed 37% of the business economy workforce and generated 49% of value added. (Eurostat (EU businesses in 2024), Sep 2026)
  • Services had 64% of all EU enterprises in 2024, 53% of employment and 51% of value added; industry had 7% of enterprises, 20% of employment and 28% of value added. (Eurostat (EU businesses in 2024), Sep 2026)
  • Trade had 17% of EU enterprises in 2024, 18% of employment and 15% of value added; construction had 12% of enterprises, 8% of employment and 7% of value added. (Eurostat (EU businesses in 2024), Sep 2026)

The EU, Canadian and Australian figures each rest on their own definition of small and their own unit (enterprises, employer businesses, actively trading businesses). They cannot be compared with each other or with the US and UK figures.

How many small businesses are there in Canada?

  • There were 1.10 million employer businesses in Canada in December 2024: 1.08 million (98.2%) were small (1 to 99 employees), 16,953 (1.5%) medium-sized (100 to 499) and 3,380 (0.3%) large. (ISED Canada (small business statistics 2025), Apr 2026)
  • Small businesses (1 to 99 employees) employed 5.8 million people in Canada in 2024, 46.6% of private sector employees; medium-sized businesses employed 2.1 million (17.0%) and large businesses 4.5 million (36.4%). (ISED Canada (small business statistics 2025), Apr 2026)
  • In 2022 small businesses contributed 33.2% of the GDP generated by Canada's private sector, medium-sized businesses 14.0% and large businesses 46.7%. (ISED Canada (small business statistics 2025), Apr 2026)
  • An average of 105,001 small businesses were created in Canada each year from 2018 to 2022, of which 91.2% (95,725) had 1 to 4 employees, and an average of 93,240 closed each year. (ISED Canada (small business statistics 2025), Apr 2026)
  • Of Canadian businesses that began with 1 to 4 employees, 63.0% were still active after 5 years, 44.7% after 10 years and 23.7% after 21 years; of those that began with 20 to 99 employees, 75.0%, 56.0% and 33.0%. (ISED Canada (small business statistics 2025), Apr 2026)
  • Five years after creation, 69.7% of Canadian small businesses in the goods-producing sector were still operating, against 67.5% in the services-producing sector; after 10 years 52.0% against 47.2%, and after 21 years 28.5% against 23.0%. (ISED Canada (small business statistics 2025), Apr 2026)
  • After five years, 78.2% of majority female-owned Canadian businesses with 1 to 99 employees were still operating, against 80.2% of majority male-owned and 85.4% of equally owned businesses; after 10 years 58.6%, 62.5% and 69.4%, and after 17 years 39.9%, 44.9% and 52.9%. (ISED Canada (small business statistics 2025), Apr 2026)
  • The average business birth rate in Canada over the last five years observed was 11.8% for majority female-owned businesses and 9.6% for majority male-owned businesses (1 to 99 employees). (ISED Canada (small business statistics 2025), Apr 2026)
  • On average each year between 2018 and 2022, 13,591 majority female-owned Canadian businesses were created and 10,150 disappeared, while 46,722 majority male-owned businesses were created and 37,055 disappeared. (ISED Canada (small business statistics 2025), Apr 2026)
  • Canada's goods exports totalled C$712.8 billion in 2024, of which 37.9% came from SMEs (1 to 499 employees); 48,036 Canadian enterprises exported goods, 73.3% of them SMEs. (ISED Canada (small business statistics 2025), Apr 2026)
  • The United States took 79.4% of the value of exports by Canadian small businesses in 2024, up from 77.9% in 2023; the share was 75.9% for medium-sized businesses (78.0% in 2023) and 75.1% for large businesses (77.3%). (ISED Canada (small business statistics 2025), Apr 2026)

Canada counts employer businesses only, so the self-employed with no paid staff are left out. Its survival rates follow enterprises and are not comparable with the US establishment rates.

How many small businesses are there in Australia?

The Australian counts cover businesses of every size unless the cut-off of fewer than 20 employees is stated. An exit is a business that stopped being counted as actively trading, which is not always a failure. The ombudsman figures are its own caseload, not a survey.

Glossary

SBA Office of Advocacy
The research office of the US Small Business Administration. It defines a small business as an independent business with fewer than 500 employees.
Nonemployer firm
A business with no paid employees. Most are run by one self-employed person.
Employer firm
A business with paid employees.
Establishment
A single business location with employees. One firm can have many establishments, which is why establishment counts and firm counts differ.
Business application
A request to the US tax authority for an Employer Identification Number, counted by the Census Bureau. It is a filing, not a business that has started trading.
High-propensity application
A business application that the Census Bureau judges most likely to become a business with employees.
BLS
US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Its Business Employment Dynamics tables follow each yearly cohort of new establishments.
SBCS
Small Business Credit Survey, run by the Federal Reserve Banks. Its employer report covers firms with 1 to 499 employees.
NFIB
National Federation of Independent Business, a US membership body. Its monthly Small Business Economic Trends report surveys its own members.
Net percentage
The share of respondents reporting a rise minus the share reporting a fall, used by NFIB for prices and profits.
KFF
A US health policy research organisation. Its Employer Health Benefits Survey treats firms with 10 to 199 workers as small.
Cash buffer days
The number of days of typical outflows a business could pay from its cash balance if inflows stopped.
SME
Small and medium-sized enterprise. In the UK and EU it means fewer than 250 people; Canada uses 1 to 499 employees.
TEA
Total Entrepreneurial Activity, the share of adults engaged in early-stage entrepreneurship in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor survey.
Opportunity share
The share of new entrepreneurs who started a business by choice and not out of unemployment, on the Kauffman indicators.
BTOS
Business Trends and Outlook Survey, the US Census Bureau survey behind its figures on AI use by businesses.

Methodology and sources

Every figure on this page comes from the document of the body that produced it: the SBA Office of Advocacy, the US Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Federal Reserve Banks, NFIB, the US Chamber of Commerce, KFF, the JPMorgan Chase Institute, the Kauffman Foundation, Babson College, an NBER working paper, the UK government and the Office for National Statistics, Eurostat, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Australian small business ombudsman. Because "small business" has no single definition, each figure states the producer's size cut-off, country and period, and figures on different cut-offs are never added together, compared as equals or drawn in one chart. Surveys of a body's own members or customers are labelled as such. We left out an analysis of venture-backed start-ups worldwide, since it does not describe small businesses; annual totals of business applications, which the Census Bureau does not print; figures that exist only as chart graphics; and any failure rate worked out by subtraction, since a closure is not always a failure. Projections are labelled with who made them. The page is reviewed every month and figures are replaced when a producer publishes a new release.