Statistics New Zealand says the number of active businesses has dropped for the second year in a row.
Figures show New Zealand had just over 470,000 businesses in February 2011, a fall of 0.6% on a year earlier.
The number of new business start-ups and business closures both fell, down 9% and 8% respectively.
Overall, four out of five business start-ups survive their first year in operation, a figure that Statistics New Zealand says has remained stable over time.