1. Main facts and figures
- in 2021, 6.1% of small and medium enterprise (SME) employers were led by a majority of people from an ethnic minority (excluding white minorities)
- the human health sector had the highest percentage of ethnic minority-led SME employers
- Northern Ireland was the country with the highest percentage of white-led SME employers
- in 2021, 4.9% of SMEs with no employees were majority led by those from an ethnic minority
- the other services sector had the highest percentage of ethnic minority-led non-employer SMEs
- England had the highest percentage of all ethnic minority-led non-employer SMEs
2. Things you need to know
What the data measures
The figures show the percentage of UK small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that:
- are majority led by people from an ethnic minority (excluding white minorities)
- are majority led by people from the white ethnic group
- have leadership teams where ethnicity is unknown
Businesses are classified as ‘majority led’ by people from an ethnic minority if 50% or more of their leadership are from ethnic minorities (excluding white minorities). Businesses are classified as majority led by the white ethnic group if more than 50% of their leadership are from the white ethnic group.
The data is presented for SME employers (those with between one and 249 employees) and SME non-employers (those with no employees) separately.
Not included in the data
Businesses that are not majority led by those from an ethnic minority may still have some leaders from an ethnic minority background, but this is not reflected in these figures.
The ethnicity of leadership teams is unknown for 0.8% of SME employers and 1.4% of SME non-employers.
The ethnic groups used in the data
This measure uses broad ethnic categories to enable large enough numbers for analysis.
The 2 broad ethnic groups are:
- White – including white British and white ethnic minorities
- Other – all other ethnic groups
Methodology
The [Longitudinal Small Business Survey] (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/small-business-survey-2018-methodology) is a survey of 15,000 UK small business owners and managers, commissioned by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
In the data file
You can also Download the data for the number and percentage of SMEs that are majority led by those from an ethnic minority, white ethnic group, or unknown, by sector
3. By ethnicity and area (employers)
| White | All Other Ethnic Groups Combined | Unknown | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country | White Percentage | White Number | All Other Ethnic Groups Combined Percentage | All Other Ethnic Groups Combined Number | Unknown Percentage | Unknown Number |
| All | 93.1 | 1,311,151 | 6.1 | 85,908 | 0.8 | 11,267 |
| England | 92.7 | 1,132,521 | 6.6 | 80,633 | 0.7 | 8,552 |
| Northern Ireland | 97.7 | 35,621 | 1.5 | 547 | 0.8 | 292 |
| Scotland | 94.9 | 89,937 | 3.7 | 3,506 | 1.4 | 1,327 |
| Wales | 96.1 | 53,225 | 2.8 | 1,551 | 1.2 | 665 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity and area (employers)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity and area (employers)’ (CSV)
4. By ethnicity and area (non-employers)
| White | All Other Ethnic Groups Combined | Unknown | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country | White Percentage | White Number | All Other Ethnic Groups Combined Percentage | All Other Ethnic Groups Combined Number | Unknown Percentage | Unknown Number |
| All | 93.7 | 3,911,900 | 4.9 | 204,571 | 1.4 | 58,449 |
| England | 93.5 | 3,449,477 | 5.1 | 188,153 | 1.4 | 51,650 |
| Northern Ireland | 90.4 | 78,711 | 4.5 | 3,918 | 5.1 | 4,441 |
| Scotland | 94.8 | 233,957 | 3.9 | 9,625 | 1.2 | 2,961 |
| Wales | 98.1 | 148,901 | 0.8 | 1,214 | 1.0 | 1,518 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity and area (non-employers)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity and area (non-employers)’ (CSV)
5. Data sources
Source
Longitudinal Small Business Survey 2021
Type of data
Survey data
Type of statistic
Official statistics
Publisher
Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
Note on corrections or updates
Updated to 2021 version
The 2018 dataset includes revisions to the figures for 2015 to 2017. The data presented in this website is focussed on 2018, but the revised 2017 figures are given in the dataset that is available for download from here.
Publication frequency
Yearly
Purpose of data source
The purpose of the Longitudinal Small Business Survey is to find out about the performance and behaviours of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the UK.
Secondary source
Business Population Estimates 2021
Type of data
Administrative and survey data
Type of statistic
National Statistics
Publisher
Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
Publication frequency
Yearly
Purpose of data source
Business population estimates for the UK and regions provides the only official estimate of the total number of private sector businesses in the UK at the start of each year. The estimates are used extensively by government, the public, public bodies and businesses to analyse the scale, structure and significance of the total business population in the UK and to monitor change over time.
6. Download the data
This file contains the following: measure, ethnicity, time, geography, sector, employer_type, value, numerator, denominator