Statistics of companies in UK

Companies population in Wales

Number of companies in region Wales is 232,618, which is 3.0% of all 7,841,461 companies in UK. Wales is ranked 10th among 12 regions in the number of companies. Last update of company data was on 30/04/2021.

Companies location and business activity breakdown in Wales

The region with the highest number of companies - 59,109 is Cardiff. Blaenau Gwent has the lowest number of companies - 2,718. The top three most frequently registered business activities are Science - 13.7%, Construction - 11.6% and Wholesale, retail - 11.4%.

Number of companies by county 232,618 companies with data in Wales

Cardiff

59,109

25.4%

Swansea

19,235

8.3%

Rhondda Cynon Taff

15,043

6.5%

Newport

13,898

6.0%

Flintshire

13,263

5.7%

Carmarthenshire

10,383

4.5%

Bridgend

9,524

4.1%

The Vale of Glamorgan

8,637

3.7%

Caerphilly

8,354

3.6%

Pembrokeshire

8,310

3.6%

Wrexham

7,978

3.4%

Powys

7,830

3.4%

Monmouthshire

7,672

3.3%

Denbighshire

7,432

3.2%

Conwy

6,515

2.8%

Neath Port Talbot

6,114

2.6%

Gwynedd

6,095

2.6%

Torfaen

4,581

2.0%

Ceredigion

3,818

1.6%

Merthyr Tydfil

3,146

1.4%

Isle of Anglesey

2,963

1.3%

Blaenau Gwent

2,718

1.2%

Business activity overview 220,808 companies with data in Wales

Science

31,774

13.7%

Construction

26,978

11.6%

Wholesale, retail

26,465

11.4%

Administrative

22,388

9.6%

ICT

16,378

7.0%

Accommodation

15,307

6.6%

Manufacturing

13,697

5.9%

Real Estate

13,143

5.7%

Service

11,813

5.1%

Transportation

11,441

4.9%

Health

8,763

3.8%

Dormant

8,072

3.5%

Arts

7,640

3.3%

Financial

6,694

2.9%

Education

4,891

2.1%

Agriculture

2,526

1.1%

Home

2,525

1.1%

Water

1,145

0.5%

Energy

986

0.4%

Mining

482

0.2%

Public

443

0.2%

Extraterritorial

0.0%

Industrial classification of companies in Wales

The Standard Industrial Classification code (SIC code) is a system of classifying industries in UK by business activities. Each company can operate under multiple SIC codes. The top three business activities for the whole of the UK are Other business support service - 5.2%, Management consultancy exl. financial - 3.7% and Dormant - 3.7%.

Distribution of companies by SIC CODE 220,808 companies with data in Wales

Companies population incorporation and dissolution trend in Wales

The highest number of incorporated companies in any one month is 2,676 in in August 2016. There are usually fewer dissolved companies than incorporated, the highest number recorded being for March 2021 - 3,682 companies were dissolved.

Incorporation and dissolution of companies by month Wales

Do you like our statistics but need something more?

We can tailor a range of statistics, visualizations and data analyses for over 6 million UK companies to your specific needs.

Send Your Inquiry

Persons with significant control
in companies in Wales

Persons with Significant Control (PSC) have been registered in Companies House since April 2016. PSC have various functions, e.g. ownership of shares or voting rights. In this section we analyse companies with at least one Person with Significant Control from a foreign country.

Top countries with local PSCs in companies in Wales

The most popular country, as regards to PSC origin, is China. In November 2020, there were 497 companies with at least one PCS from China. Other popular countries are Germany, United States and Norway.

Top 10 countries with local PSCs Wales

Percentage of companies with foreign PSCs being incorporated each month in the Wales

The highest proportion of companies with a foreign PSC to be incorporated in one month was in August 2019 - 3.91%. Since 2017 the number of dissolutions has exceeded the number of new incorporations. The highest proportion to be dissolved in one month was 7.72% was in April 2020. The low number of dissolutions in 2016 is the result of only a small number of companies registering their PSC in Company House in that year.