Total self-employed population
Approximately 4.3-4.4 million UK self-employed workers as of the most recent ONS labour market data (2024), representing about 13% of the total UK workforce.
Growth trajectory
The UK self-employed workforce grew from approximately 3.5 million in 2008 to a pre-pandemic peak around 5 million in early 2020. The pandemic reduced this by ~700,000, and the population has since stabilised around 4.3-4.4 million.
Gender split
ONS data consistently shows UK self-employment is majority male — roughly 65% male, 35% female. The gap has narrowed slightly over the last decade but remains substantial.
Full-time vs part-time
Approximately two-thirds of UK self-employed workers work full-time hours; one-third work part-time. Part-time self-employment has grown faster than full-time over the last five years — driven partly by side-hustle economy trends.
Regional distribution
London has the highest self-employment concentration, followed by the South East and South West. The lowest concentrations are in the North East and Northern Ireland. Rural areas typically show higher rates than urban areas outside London.
Sources
Self-employment is a legal/tax status; freelancing is a work pattern. Every UK freelancer is self-employed (either sole trader or Ltd director) but not every self-employed person is a freelancer.
The pre-pandemic 5m peak has not been recovered. Whether the current 4.3-4.4m plateau will resume growth is unclear.
No. ONS treats them as employed. Self-employment loss doesn't register in unemployment figures the way redundancy does.