Fife business data
Fife Business Statistics: Startups, Survival and Sectors
Explore how Fife's registered business population is changing, how recent startup cohorts compare with Scotland and which sectors account for the largest shares of local businesses and employment.
Official datasets measure different parts of the business population. Every figure below is dated and defined so that business births, registered stock and company activity are not treated as the same thing.
At a glance
Fife's active business population
These four figures use the same Office for National Statistics business-demography population: registered enterprises active during calendar 2024.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Business demography, UK: 2024, published 20 November 2025. Counts are control-rounded to base five. Business births and deaths are not Companies House incorporations and dissolutions.
Business activity
How did Fife compare with Scotland in 2024?
Fife recorded 905 business births and 925 deaths during 2024. Its birth rate was 9.8%, compared with 10.7% across Scotland, while its death rate was 10.1%, compared with 9.4% nationally.
The rounded Fife counts were close, with 20 more deaths than births. That should not be presented as a definitive measure of economic decline: the ONS figures describe entries to and exits from the registered enterprise population, not business profitability or local demand.
Birth rate
Births as a percentage of active enterprises, 2024.
Death rate
Deaths as a percentage of active enterprises, 2024.
View the 2024 activity data as a table
| Area | Active | Births | Birth rate | Deaths | Death rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fife | 9,195 | 905 | 9.8% | 925 | 10.1% |
| Scotland | 172,065 | 18,420 | 10.7% | 16,140 | 9.4% |
Source: ONS, Business demography, UK: 2024, Tables 1.1d, 2.1d and 3.1d. The latest two years of death figures remain subject to revision for business reactivations.
Startup survival
How long do new Fife businesses remain active?
New Fife enterprises initially remain active at rates close to Scotland. Of the 990 enterprises born in Fife during 2023, 930 remained active in 2024, giving a one-year survival rate of 93.9%. Scotland's equivalent rate was 94.0%.
The 2019 Fife cohort followed a more difficult path. Its survival rate fell from 94.3% after one year to 44.8% after three years and 30.1% after five years. Scotland's equivalent five-year rate was 39.3%.
Latest observable survival by birth cohort
Each cohort is shown at its longest available observation point in 2024. The horizons therefore differ by birth year.
2019 cohort survival path
The same 2019 birth cohort followed from one to five years.
View survival comparison table
| Birth cohort | Longest available period | Fife | Scotland | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Five years | 30.1% | 39.3% | -9.2pp |
| 2020 | Four years | 44.2% | 46.6% | -2.3pp |
| 2021 | Three years | 54.1% | 57.6% | -3.5pp |
| 2022 | Two years | 72.1% | 71.3% | +0.8pp |
| 2023 | One year | 93.9% | 94.0% | -0.1pp |
Source: ONS, Business demography, UK: 2024, Tables 5.1a-5.1e. Survival means an enterprise remains active through employment or turnover. It does not measure profitability, growth or insolvency.
Business structure
Which sectors have a strong presence in Fife?
Wholesale, retail and repairs represented the largest share of Fife's registered private-sector business base in March 2025, accounting for 17.5% of businesses and 22.5% of employment in the dataset. Construction accounted for 14.9% of businesses, while manufacturing represented 5.9% of businesses but 13.0% of employment.
Professional, scientific and technical activities formed a smaller share of both businesses and employment in Fife than across Scotland. These comparisons describe the current business base. A large or small sector share does not by itself demonstrate market demand.
Selected sector differences from Scotland
Shares of registered businesses or employment. Use the buttons to switch measure.
Source: Scottish Government, Businesses in Scotland 2025, Table 7. Snapshot: March 2025. Local-authority figures cover registered private-sector businesses. A business operating in several council areas can be counted in each area.
Business size
Most registered businesses operating in Fife are small
In March 2025, 8,680 of the 9,380 registered private-sector businesses operating in Fife were in the 0-49 UK employee band. That represents 92.5% of the local registered stock covered by the Scottish Government table.
The size bands refer to each enterprise's total UK employment, not the number of people employed at its Fife location. Multi-area businesses are counted in every council area in which they operate.
| UK employee size band | Businesses | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 0-49 | 8,680 | 92.5% |
| 50-249 | 275 | 2.9% |
| 250+ | 425 | 4.5% |
| Total | 9,380 | 100.0% |
Source: Scottish Government, Businesses in Scotland 2025, Table 5. Snapshot: March 2025. Counts are rounded to the nearest five.
Using the data
Questions to investigate before starting or growing in Fife
How large is your reachable market?
A sector total does not reveal how many businesses serve the same customers, operate only as branches or buy the product you plan to sell. Combine official figures with direct competitor and customer research.
What will your business need after its first year?
One-year survival is high in both Fife and Scotland. Planning should also cover repeat sales, working capital, premises, staffing and owner resilience through years two to five.
Which local organisations and businesses could help?
Identify advisers, support programmes, suppliers, customers and complementary businesses before you need them. A stronger local network can make research and problem-solving easier.
Advice and support
Business support available in Fife
Official statistics can help you frame questions, but they cannot assess an individual business idea. Business Gateway Fife provides advice for people starting businesses and for existing companies planning to develop or grow.
No partnership or endorsement by these organisations is implied.
Fife directory
Add your business to the Fife directory
ScottishBusiness.com helps people find Scottish companies, suppliers and services. Fife businesses can add a free profile or claim an existing listing to keep their information accurate.
Research notes
Sources and methodology
This page uses official primary sources. Different datasets answer different questions, so the figures are not combined into a single estimate of "all businesses in Fife".
- ONS Business demography, UK: 2024. Published 20 November 2025. Used for active enterprises, births, deaths and survival. Counts refer to enterprises active during a calendar year.
- Scottish Government, Businesses in Scotland 2025. Published 3 December 2025. Used for registered private-sector stock, sectors, employment and size bands. Local-authority data use a March 2025 snapshot.
- Registered business stock is not the same as active enterprises. The March 2025 Scottish Government figure of 9,380 and the ONS calendar-2024 active-enterprise figure of 9,195 use different reference periods and definitions.
- Business births are not incorporations. ONS births and deaths track entries to and exits from its active business population. They are not Companies House incorporations, dissolutions, insolvencies or Business Gateway-supported starts.
- Survival is cohort-specific. A one-year rate for businesses born in 2023 and a five-year rate for businesses born in 2019 describe different groups.
- Local business tables can count multi-area firms more than once. A business operating in Fife and another council area appears in both local-authority totals, although it appears once in the Scotland total.
Primary sources: ONS Business demography and Scottish Government Businesses in Scotland 2025.
Using these Fife business statistics?
You are welcome to reference figures, tables and ScottishBusiness.com analysis from this page. Please credit ScottishBusiness.com and link to the page when using our analysis or visualisations.
Suggested citation: ScottishBusiness.com (2026), "Fife Business Statistics: Startups, Survival and Sectors". Available at: https://scottishbusiness.com/fife-business-statistics/
Last updated: 27 September 2026. The page will be reviewed when newer annual ONS business-demography or Scottish Government business-stock data become available.