UK Self-Employment Statistics by Region
Self-employment in the UK means working for yourself — as a sole trader, freelancer, contractor or partner — rather than as an employee on a payroll. As of Jan-Mar 2026, the Office for National Statistics counts 4,575,538 self-employed people in the UK, 13.4% of everyone in employment. This page breaks the picture down across all 12 UK regions using official ONS data.
Quick answer
Self-employment by UK region
Regional figures are from the ONS Annual Population Survey for 2019 (the most recent regional breakdown ONS publishes). Select a region for its full profile.
| Region | Self-employed | Rate | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| London | 864,251 | 18.6% | 2019 |
| South East | 774,735 | 16.8% | 2019 |
| East of England | 482,975 | 15.7% | 2019 |
| North West | 481,702 | 14.0% | 2019 |
| South West | 479,897 | 17.3% | 2019 |
| West Midlands | 389,314 | 14.1% | 2019 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 345,139 | 13.5% | 2019 |
| Scotland | 329,604 | 12.4% | 2019 |
| East Midlands | 329,491 | 14.0% | 2019 |
| Wales | 210,711 | 14.5% | 2019 |
| North East | 151,304 | 12.7% | 2019 |
| Northern Ireland | 134,126 | 15.5% | 2019 |
Frequently asked questions
- How many people are self-employed in the UK?
- There are 4,575,538 self-employed people in the UK as of Jan-Mar 2026, equal to 13.4% of everyone in employment. Source: ONS EMP14: Employees and self-employed by industry (Jan-Mar 2026), OGL v3.0.
- Which UK region has the highest self-employment rate?
- London has the highest self-employment rate of any UK region at 18.6% of its workforce (2019, ONS Annual Population Survey), followed by the South West (17.3%) and the South East (16.8%).
- Why do the regional figures not add up to the UK total?
- The regional breakdown is from the ONS Annual Population Survey for 2019 (the latest regional release ONS publishes), while the UK headline is the current ONS EMP14 figure for Jan-Mar 2026. They cover different periods and use different surveys, so the 2019 regional counts do not sum to the 2026 national total.
- Is this self-employment data free to use?
- Yes. All figures come from the Office for National Statistics and are published under the Open Government Licence v3.0, which permits free commercial and private re-use with attribution to the ONS.
Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS). Regional figures: Self-employment by NUTS1 (region) (2019, released 2020-04-17). National figure: EMP14: Employees and self-employed by industry (Jan-Mar 2026, released 2026-05-19). Survey source: Annual Population Survey (regional, 2018-based weights) / Labour Force Survey (national).
Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Data accessed and verified 2026-06-27.