Counts of Australian Businesses, including Entries and Exits

Latest release

Counts of actively trading businesses, rates of entry to and exit from the market sector of the economy, and rates of business survival

Reference period

July 2020 - June 2024

Released

27/08/2024

Key statistics

At 30 June 2024 there were 2,662,998 actively trading businesses in the Australian economy.

In 2023-24 there was a:

2.8% or 73,125 increase in the number of businesses
16.8% entry rate, with 436,018 entries
14.0% exit rate, with 362,893 exits

Entries and exits

The number of actively trading businesses in this release differs from the total number of entities with an Australian Business Number (ABN).

A table of the conceptual and practical basis of counts is published in the Methodology publication detailing how these counts differ.

Business entries and exits, 2020-21 to 2023-24, Australia
	Entries	Exits	Net change
2020-21	365,480	-277,674	87,806
2021-22	442,555	-305,085	137,470
2022-23	406,365	-356,216	50,149
2023-24	436,018	-362,893	73,125

Business entries and exits, 2020-21 to 2023-24, Australia

["","Entries","Exits","Net change"]

[["2020-21","2021-22","2022-23","2023-24"],[[365480],[442555],[406365],[436018]],[[-277674],[-305085],[-356216],[-362893]],[[87806],[137470],[50149],[73125]]]

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Industry

In 2023-24 the three industries with the largest percentage increase in businesses were:

Transport, Postal and Warehousing (increase of 8.5% to 237,506 businesses)
Health Care and Social Assistance (increase of 7.7% to 199,763 businesses)
Financial and Insurance Services (increase of 4.8% to 129,031 businesses)

The industries with the largest percentage decrease in businesses in 2023-24 were:

Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing (decrease of 1.3% to 172,248 businesses)
Retail Trade (decrease of 0.2% to 156,938 businesses)

Annual percent change in businesses by industry division, 2023-24
	Annual percent change
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing	-1.3
Mining	1.5
Manufacturing	0.6
Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services	2.5
Construction	2.0
Wholesale Trade	0.0
Retail Trade	-0.2
Accommodation and Food Services	1.2
Transport, Postal and Warehousing	8.5
Information Media and Telecommunications	0.7
Financial and Insurance Services	4.8
Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services	2.9
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services	2.6
Administrative and Support Services	2.6
Public Administration and Safety	1.5
Education and Training	2.8
Health Care and Social Assistance	7.7
Arts and Recreation Services	2.1
Other Services	2.4

Annual percent change in businesses by industry division, 2023-24

["","Annual percent change"]

[["Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing","Mining","Manufacturing","Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services","Construction","Wholesale Trade","Retail Trade","Accommodation and Food Services","Transport, Postal and Warehousing","Information Media and Telecommunications","Financial and Insurance Services","Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services","Professional, Scientific and Technical Services","Administrative and Support Services","Public Administration and Safety","Education and Training","Health Care and Social Assistance","Arts and Recreation Services","Other Services"],[[-1.3],[1.5],[0.59999999999999998],[2.5],[2],[0],[-0.20000000000000001],[1.2],[8.5],[0.69999999999999996],[4.7999999999999998],[2.8999999999999999],[2.6000000000000001],[2.6000000000000001],[1.5],[2.7999999999999998],[7.7000000000000002],[2.1000000000000001],[2.3999999999999999]]]

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States and territories

In 2023-24 there was a:

25,569 increase in the number of businesses in New South Wales, the largest net increase in any state/territory
18,641 increase in the number of businesses in Victoria
1,217 increase in Australian Capital Territory, and 8,718 increase in Western Australia, with both having the largest percentage increase at 3.5%

All states and territories showed a growth in business counts.

Institutional sector

In 2023-24 there was a:

7.3% (7,033) increase in financial corporations to a total of 103,090 businesses
4.3% (50,901) increase in non-financial corporations to a total of 1,230,472 businesses
1.2% (15,370) increase in households to a total of 1,327,734 businesses

Households accounted for 49.9% of all businesses, the largest of any institutional sector.

Type of legal organisation

In 2023-24 total companies showed the largest net growth among types of legal organisations, showing a 5.4% (58,688) increase to 1,153,149 businesses in total, with 185,819 entries.

There was also a:

4.1% (9,130) decrease in partnerships to 213,919 total
2.4% (18,941) increase in sole proprietors to 803,687 total

Employment size

In 2023-24 the number of non-employing businesses increased by 4.9% (78,144), with a net movement of 33,783 surviving businesses from employing to non-employing.

There was also a:

5.7% (3,655) increase in businesses with 20-199 employees to 68,214 total
6.0% (294) increase in businesses with 200+ employees to 5,189 total
1.4% (9,909) decrease in businesses with 1-4 employees to 693,558 total

Annual percent change in businesses by employment size range, 2023-24
	Annual percent change
Non–employing	4.9
1–4 employees	-1.4
5–19 employees	0.4
20–199 employees	5.7
200+ employees	6.0

Annual percent change in businesses by employment size range, 2023-24

["","Annual percent change"]

[["Non\u2013employing","1\u20134 employees","5\u201319 employees","20\u2013199 employees","200+ employees"],[[4.9000000000000004],[-1.3999999999999999],[0.40000000000000002],[5.7000000000000002],[6]]]

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Quarterly experimental counts

In the June quarter 2024 there was a:

1.0%, or 25,094 increase in the number of businesses
4.9% entry rate, with 130,046 entries
4.0% exit rate, with 104,952 exits
1.4% (22,777) increase in non-employing businesses and 0.2% (2,317) increase in employing businesses

For more information on the methodological differences between the quarterly and annual counts, see the Technical note.

Business entries and exits, June quarter 2020 to June quarter 2024, Australia
	Entries	Exits	Net change
Jun-20	97,021	-66,534	30,487
Sep-20	116,148	-80,992	35,156
Dec-20	101,445	-105,730	-4,285
Mar-21	96,278	-73,089	23,189
Jun-21	107,206	-72,941	34,265
Sep-21	152,194	-109,482	42,712
Dec-21	125,083	-116,438	8,645
Mar-22	119,038	-76,510	42,528
Jun-22	121,965	-78,380	43,585
Sep-22	132,626	-110,853	21,773
Dec-22	116,297	-140,921	-24,624
Mar-23	106,401	-92,537	13,864
Jun-23	122,749	-83,613	39,136
Sep-23	141,964	-114,171	27,793
Dec-23	131,280	-137,846	-6,566
Mar-24	110,368	-84,351	26,017
Jun-24	130,046	-104,952	25,094

Business entries and exits, June quarter 2020 to June quarter 2024, Australia

["","Entries","Exits","Net change"]

[["Jun-20","Sep-20","Dec-20","Mar-21","Jun-21","Sep-21","Dec-21","Mar-22","Jun-22","Sep-22","Dec-22","Mar-23","Jun-23","Sep-23","Dec-23","Mar-24","Jun-24"],[[97021],[116148],[101445],[96278],[107206],[152194],[125083],[119038],[121965],[132626],[116297],[106401],[122749],[141964],[131280],[110368],[130046]],[[-66534],[-80992],[-105730],[-73089],[-72941],[-109482],[-116438],[-76510],[-78380],[-110853],[-140921],[-92537],[-83613],[-114171],[-137846],[-84351],[-104952]],[[30487],[35156],[-4285],[23189],[34265],[42712],[8645],[42528],[43585],[21773],[-24624],[13864],[39136],[27793],[-6566],[26017],[25094]]]

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Industry subdivision

In the June quarter 2024, the subdivisions with the largest quarterly net increase in businesses were:

Property Operators and Real Estate Services (4,028 businesses or 1.5%)
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (Except Computer System Design and Related Services) (3,408 businesses or 1.2%)

The subdivisions with the largest quarterly net decrease in businesses were:

Machinery and Equipment Wholesaling (269 businesses or 1.8%)
Other Goods Wholesaling (141 businesses or 0.8%)
Road Transport (122 businesses or 0.1%)

Seasonally adjusted data

There is a strong seasonal pattern in the counts of Total Businesses, Business Entries and Business Exits. To assist in distinguishing between short-term trends and the seasonal patterns, seasonally adjusted counts have been prepared for these headline figures. For more information, see the Methodology.

In the June 2024 quarter, in seasonally adjusted terms, there was a:

0.4%, or 9,194, increase in the number of businesses
4.9% entry rate, with 131,069 entries
4.8% exit rate, with 126,599 exits

Count of total businesses, March 2013 to June 2024, Australia
	Original	Seasonally Adjusted
Mar-13	1,990,082	1,997,332
Jun-13	2,002,577	1,999,854
Sep-13	2,008,431	1,995,587
Dec-13	1,991,609	1,999,881
Mar-14	1,997,550	2,004,907
Jun-14	2,017,609	2,014,984
Sep-14	2,023,188	2,010,016
Dec-14	2,010,857	2,019,209
Mar-15	2,017,669	2,025,247
Jun-15	2,031,438	2,029,023
Sep-15	2,051,643	2,037,753
Dec-15	2,040,311	2,048,937
Mar-16	2,055,267	2,063,235
Jun-16	2,076,090	2,073,772
Sep-16	2,102,907	2,088,038
Dec-16	2,093,821	2,102,936
Mar-17	2,107,771	2,116,232
Jun-17	2,137,796	2,135,413
Sep-17	2,174,845	2,158,939
Dec-17	2,163,812	2,173,505
Mar-18	2,179,779	2,188,820
Jun-18	2,208,447	2,205,750
Sep-18	2,238,120	2,221,582
Dec-18	2,224,064	2,234,240
Mar-19	2,241,846	2,251,268
Jun-19	2,268,998	2,265,925
Sep-19	2,292,270	2,275,380
Dec-19	2,272,269	2,282,912
Mar-20	2,283,961	2,293,530
Jun-20	2,314,448	2,310,836
Sep-20	2,349,085	2,332,199
Dec-20	2,344,800	2,355,998
Mar-21	2,367,989	2,377,567
Jun-21	2,402,254	2,398,194
Sep-21	2,444,966	2,427,875
Dec-21	2,453,611	2,465,524
Mar-22	2,496,139	2,505,952
Jun-22	2,539,724	2,534,917
Sep-22	2,561,497	2,544,203
Dec-22	2,536,873	2,549,358
Mar-23	2,550,737	2,560,462
Jun-23	2,589,873	2,584,653
Sep-23	2,617,666	2,600,278
Dec-23	2,611,100	2,624,204
Mar-24	2,637,117	2,647,150
Jun-24	2,662,211	2,656,344

Count of total businesses, March 2013 to June 2024, Australia

["","Original","Seasonally Adjusted"]

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Count of businesses, entries and exits, December 2023 and June 2024, Australia
	Mar-24	Change (%)	Jun-24	Change (%)
Original
Total Businesses	2,637,117	1	2,662,211	1
Business Entries	110,368	4.2	130,046	4.9
Business Exits	84,351	3.2	104,952	4
Seasonally Adjusted
Total Businesses	2,647,150	0.9	2,656,344	0.4
Business Entries	124,054	4.7	131,069	4.9
Business Exits	100,221	3.8	126,599	4.8

Trend estimates are not calculated for these series as they require the irregular component to be accounted for and this cannot be accurately estimated.

Data downloads

Annual data cubes

Data cube 1 tables 1-16 are released in August.

Data cube 1 tables 17-20 and data cubes 2-11 are released in December.

Data cube 1: Tables 1-16 of counts of Australian businesses, including entries and exits

Data files

Download xlsx [208.68 KB]

Download all (409.39 KB)

Quarterly data cubes

Quarterly and seasonally adjusted data is released in February, May, August and December.

Data files

Data cube 12: Quarterly Counts of Australian Businesses, entries and exits, experimental estimates
Download xlsx [394.32 KB]
Data cube 13: Counts of Australian Businesses, including Entries and Exits, time series and seasonally adjusted
Download xlsx [49.37 KB]

Post-release changes

13 September 2024 - Data cube 1 re-released to correct an error. This error was exclusive to tables 13b and 14b in this data cube. No other data cubes have been affected.

Methodology

Scope

All actively trading businesses in the Australian market sector

Excluding:

Reserve Bank of Australia
General Government
Non-Profit Institutions Serving Households

Geography

Data available for:

Australia
States and Territories
Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2)
Local Government Area (LGA)

Source

Australian Bureau of Statistics Business Register (ABSBR)

Collection method

Administrative data collected quarterly or annually for Australian Business Number (ABN) registrations recorded in the Australian Business Register (ABR), and business data from the Australian Tax Office (ATO)

Concepts, sources and methods

Classifications used to compile the data:

History of changes

The total counts of businesses for the 2021-22 financial year have been revised

Full history of changes

View full methodology

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APA

Citation

Counts of Australian Businesses, including Entries and Exits

APA

Citation

Key statistics

Entries and exits

Industry

States and territories

Institutional sector

Type of legal organisation

Employment size

Quarterly experimental counts

Industry subdivision

Seasonally adjusted data

Data downloads

Annual data cubes

Data cube 1: Tables 1-16 of counts of Australian businesses, including entries and exits

Quarterly data cubes

Data cube 12: Quarterly Counts of Australian Businesses, entries and exits, experimental estimates

Data cube 13: Counts of Australian Businesses, including Entries and Exits, time series and seasonally adjusted

Post-release changes

Methodology

Scope

Geography

Source

Collection method

Concepts, sources and methods

History of changes

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