The UK is being referred to as the developed world’s capital of entrepreneurship, after new figures revealed one in 11 working age people are starting or running a business.

The findings came in research by Barclays Bank and the Business Growth Fund (BGF), reported in today’s FT.

It shows 8.6% of 18-to-64 year-olds are involved in start-ups, up from 7.3% just a year ago. The biennial Entrepreneurs Index put the number of active companies at 3,139,630 – an all-time high for the UK.

In total there are well over 5 million businesses in the UK, although some are dormant.

Richard Phelps, a managing director of Barclays, said: “Since we started our Entrepreneurs Index research in 2012, the UK has seen a net gain of nearly half a million companies, which signifies that for many individuals, running their own business is now becoming an aspirational career choice.”

According to the FT report, there was also a rise in founders selling shares in their businesses. The number of deals resulting in earnings of £200,000 or more for owners increased by 6% last year, from 1,476 to 1,562.

But there is still room to make the UK more entrepreneurial, according to Stephen Welton, chief executive of the BGF. He said the country still does not produce enough scaled businesses, unlike in the US which has a large stock of billion-dollar firms.

Welton said: “We need to reinforce ambition. Entrepreneurs need to remember why they started their business: how they are going to conquer the world.”

Figures show that the proportion of businesses registered for VAT, most of which have turnovers above the £81,000 threshold, has dropped in recent years.

In March 2010, 41.3% of businesses were VAT registered, compared with 39.5% today.

The BGF is a fund created by big banks to provide long-term investment to small and medium businesses.