More companies open their doors in Victoria New research reveals that over the past four years, 32,500 companies opened their doors in Victoria. VICTORIA'S business sector is burgeoning, growing faster than in any other state. New research reveals that over the past four years, 32,500 companies opened their doors. The number of businesses operating in Victoria jumped to 551,220 last year - a rise of 6.3 per cent since 2008, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Nationally, almost 70,000 business have opened since 2008 and Victoria has snared nearly half of them. Around Australia, superannuation funds, general medical practices, and cafes and restaurants lead the growth sectors. But prolonged weakness in the property markets weighed heavily on construction and associated trades, research shows. At the end of the 2012 financial year, there were 2.14 million businesses trading across the nation. "The data shows that despite plenty of reports of tough business conditions, there also have been enough people with sufficient confidence to cause the number of businesses to lift," CommSec chief economist Craig James said. After Victoria, the Northern Territory and the ACT were the next best performers, with business numbers growing 5.5 per cent and 4.8 per cent respectively since 2008. Tasmania was the worst performer, with just 32 extra businesses opened in the four years. Nationally, there was a 7 per cent surge in the number of superannuation funds over the four years from 2008. Health services recorded strong growth with GPs, dentists and specialist and allied medical services all appearing in the top 10 growth businesses. At the other end of the spectrum, the forestry industry was the worst performer recording a 19.5 per cent drop in businesses to 7585.