A new barometer of business activity shows that 19,116 new businesses were formed in Ireland so far this year.
Bank of Ireland's Business Start Up Barometer shows that Dublin is the top location for company formations, with 5,702 companies set up in the county this year. This is followed by Cork where 1,257 companies were formed and Galway with 631 start ups.
According to Dermot Nolan, head of business marketing at Bank of Ireland: "Ireland has been recognised by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor as being the second most entrepreneurial country in the EU with one in 12 working adults currently engaged in entrepreneurial activity.
"This analysis certainly supports this finding and we expect the number of business start-ups to top 20,000 this year," he said.
Using statistics compiled by Vision-Net.i.e., the Barometer tracks the number of companies formed on a sectoral and geographical basis.
On a sectoral basis, the highest number of companies formed were those in the construction and civil engineering sector, with 1,831 companies established.
This was followed closely by estate agencies and property management companies, which accounted for 1,065 and 901 new start-ups, respectively.
There were 758 business and management consultancy services companies set up, while 463 software consultancy and supply companies were formed despite ongoing pressures in the IT sector.