The number of businesses is down slightly.
Official figures show 469,000 firms at February 2012, a decrease of 0.8% compared with the previous year.
All regions fell except Wellington.
Auckland region accounts for almost a third of all business locations, while another quarter are in the South Island/
The number of new business start-ups fell 11% and business closures rose 2%.
The survival rates of businesses is similar to previous years, with four in five businesses surviving their first year of operation, and almost 30% surviving 10 years.