Some 32,000 people started a new business in Ireland in 2013, according to a new report on entrepreneurship worldwide.

Figures also show that one in every 11 Irish adults is also engaged in some form of early-stage entrepreneurial activity, the highest rate since the start of the economic crisis.

Both findings are included in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (Gem) Report for Ireland in 2013, the publication of which was welcomed by Minister for Enterprise Richard Bruton recently.

Co-authored by Paula Fitzsimons of Fitzsimons Consulting Dr Colm O’Gorman, Professor of Entrepreneurship at DCU Business School, the report predicts a strong future for Irish entrepreneurs.

Other findings include a narrowing of the gender gap among new business owners, with men outnumbering women by a ratio of seven-to-five.

“We have great entrepreneurs in Ireland – we just don’t have enough of them,” said Minister Bruton, who added that the new report “confirms what we have been seeing across the country in recent years, that people are becoming more open to considering starting a business as a career option.

The minister adds that the “challenge is to ensure that their new businesses are sustainable and can compete with the best in the world both on home and export markets.

“That is the only basis on which they can grow and create much needed employment.”

Minister Bruton said he intends “to further build on this in the National Strategy on Entrepreneurship, which I will publish in the autumn.”

The Gem Report is supported by Enterprise Ireland, Forfás and the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation.