The number of entrepreneurs on the island of Ireland has reached 324,000, with the proportion of owner-managers one of the highest in the European Union, a report shows.

Almost nine per cent of the adult population is involved in owner-managed businesses, bringing the island close to the US figure of 10 per cent.

The figures were published yesterday in a study by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor in 2004 for InterTradeIreland, Enterprise Ireland and Invest Northern Ireland.

Of the 324,000 entrepreneurs on the island, 253,000 are based in the Republic and 71,000 are in Northern Ireland.

There are no comparable figures for 2003.

Entrepreneurial activity is stronger in Ireland than it is in Northern Ireland, according to the report.

In addition, five per cent of the female population in Ireland are involved in new or existing owner-managed businesses, more than double the rate in the North.

The highest number of entrepreneurs is aged between 25 and 34.

About 12 per cent of the population in this age group are involved in start-up businesses in the Republic, compared with just 7 per cent in Northern Ireland.

Still, new businesses are being set up at a much faster pace and grow significantly faster in the US than on the island of Ireland, according to Dr Eileen McGloin of InterTradeIreland.

"The challenge here is to increase the number of new businesses that are being started and the number of them that are capable of substantial growth," Dr McGloin said.

About 63 per cent of adults on the island of Ireland consider starting a new business a good career choice, and 83 per cent associate successful new businesses with a high degree of status, the report showed.