New figures published today show there was a net increase of more than 20,000 firms operating in the UK in 2001 compared to the previous year - equivalent to over 60 new businesses starting up every day.
According to new statistics from the Department of Trade and Industry's Small Business Service (SBS), the business population totalled 3,746,340 last year, compared to 3,722,610 in the year 2000.
Other findings show:
there were 1.3 million more businesses than in 1980 - the first year for which comparable figures are available;
the number of medium-sized businesses reached 27,000 for the first time in seven years; and,
at least 95 per cent of businesses in all industries were SMEs.
Welcoming the figures, Nigel Griffiths, Small Business Minister, said, "Small businesses are the engine room of the UK economy.
