In England, entrepreneurial qualities are most notable among young people.

English citizens between the ages 18 and 24 show remarkable interest in starting their own enterprise. On the other hand, people between the ages 35 and 44 are less inclined to start their own business.

The average time to establish an enterprise in England is three years. In 2005, England stood third in terms of percentage of entrepreneurial activities among the top seven industrialized countries, ranking behind only the U.S. and Canada.

Studies show the total entrepreneurial activity (TEA) in England remains close to 8 percent of the working adult population. The entrepreneurial activity among females remains close to 4 percent. The London area, in particular, has seen an increase in entrepreneurial activity within the past two to three years.

Immigrants such as Africans, Indians and Pakistanis are among the most entrepreneurial in the country, as they are almost two times more likely to start up an enterprise than a white British native.

Entrepreneurial Tendencies by Location

According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor U.K. Regional Summary 2006, the overall entrepreneurial activity has been rising over the past few years.

The percentage of people between the ages of 18 and 24 interested in starting their own enterprise was 5.4 percent of the total population as compared with 3.7 percent in the rest of the U.K. This trend is not shown among older people. Those between the ages 25 and 34 show less entrepreneurial activity than those in the UK on an average. Those who are expecting to start-up a business of their own in East England constitute 6.6 percent of the population and those looking for start-up opportunities constitute 3.8 percent.

In southeast England, entrepreneurial activity is significantly high; in fact, it contributes a major portion towards the total entrepreneurial activity in the whole of U.K. There has been a rapid increase in women entrepreneurship since 2000 in the southeast region.

The Role of the Government

The U.K. government encourages entrepreneurship training and sees it as a means of creating an entrepreneurial society.

The government in England imposes certain insurance fees upon small businesses, while others are not compulsory. The compulsory insurances include employer's liability insurance; vehicles insurance; public liability insurance; premises insurance; contents, stock and materials insurance; and health and accident insurance. In addition, there are some pension schemes for self-employed individuals, who are able to also claim certain benefits and tax credits. These benefits are subject to the type of enterprise and the amount of income you generate.