How many limited companies are registered in Scotland.

Data are available on the number of businesses operating in Scotland, that are registered for VAT and/or PAYE, broken down by business legal status. These estimates, sourced from the Businesses in Scotland 2024 publication, are shown in the following table.Table 1: Number of registered businesses (including public sector) operating in Scotland, by business legal status, 2024Legal StatusNumber of businessesCompanies (incl. Building Societies)118,935Sole proprietors30,410Partnerships16,620Public Corporation/ nationalised body35Central and local government225Non-profit making bodies and mutual associations8,090Total registered174,310Source: Businesses in Scotland 2024Notes:1.These data are available from Table A of the Scottish Government Businesses in Scotland 2024 publication: Businesses in Scotland: 2024
- gov.scot2.Estimates are rounded to the nearest five.Findings from the latest Small Business Survey show that 63% of small and medium-sized enterprises with at least one employee (SME employers) and 37% of SMEs with no employees in Scotland identify as a “Private limited company, limited by shares (LTD)”. The full breakdown for legal status from the survey is shown in the following table.Table 2: Self-identification of business legal status, Scotland, 2023-2024Legal StatusShare of SME employersShare of SMEs with no employeesSole proprietorship/trader11%43%Private limited company, limited by shares (LTD)63%37%Private company limited by guarantee7%2%Partnership11%11%Limited liability partnership1%3%Charitable Incorporated Organisation3%0%Other3%2%Don't know1%2%Source: Findings for Scotland from the Small Business Survey Scotland: 2023-2024 and Small Business Survey 2023: businesses with no employees.Notes:1.These data are available from Table A5 of the Scottish Government Small Business Survey Scotland: 2023-2024: Small Business Survey Scotland: 2023-2024 and Table 14 of the UK Government Small Business Survey 2023: businesses with no employees: Small Business Survey 2023: businesses with no employees2.Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) are businesses that have less than 250 employees.Figures for corporate body type including limited companies at UK level can be found in the Companies House annual publication "Companies Register Activities 2023-2024". Please see Table C1 at the link below for figures from 2014-15 to 2023-24: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/companies-register-activities-statistical-release-april-2023-to-march-2024. The UK publication also includes some headline statistics for Scotland, Table A1 shows that there were 261,812 companies registered in Scotland at the end of 2023-24. Note that the figures for Scotland include all companies formed under the Companies Act 2006. The Act includes the following company types: public limited; private limited; private limited by guarantee / no share capital; private limited by guarantee / no share capital (exempt); private limited (section 30); private unlimited; private unlimited / no share capital companies.