Data / Rankings / Active companies / Provinces of Spain
Provinces of Spain by active companies
Madrid province had the highest active companies of 52 provinces in 2016, at 516,412. Ceuta province had the lowest, at 3,762. The median was 38,462 and the figure for Spain was 3.24 million. Source: the Instituto Nacional de Estadística.
Madrid province Madrid province: 516,412 count 516,412 Barcelona province Barcelona province: 450,451 count 450,451 Valencia province Valencia province: 172,204 count 172,204 Alicante province Alicante province: 133,124 count 133,124 Málaga province Málaga province: 115,447 count 115,447 Seville province Seville province: 113,653 count 113,653 Murcia province Murcia province: 92,008 count 92,008 Balearic Islands province Balearic Islands province: 89,341 count 89,341 A Coruña province A Coruña province: 82,156 count 82,156 Biscay province Biscay province: 79,166 count 79,166 Las Palmas province Las Palmas province: 70,613 count 70,613 Pontevedra province Pontevedra province: 67,968 count 67,968 Asturias province Asturias province: 67,675 count 67,675 Santa Cruz de Tenerife province Santa Cruz de Tenerife province: 65,296 count 65,296 Zaragoza province Zaragoza province: 64,655 count 64,655 Girona province Girona province: 60,529 count 60,529 Cádiz province Cádiz province: 58,658 count 58,658 Granada province Granada province: 56,884 count 56,884 Gipuzkoa province Gipuzkoa province: 52,016 count 52,016 Tarragona province Tarragona province: 51,887 count 51,887 Córdoba province Córdoba province: 46,290 count 46,290 Navarre province Navarre province: 43,907 count 43,907 Toledo province Toledo province: 42,240 count 42,240 Almería province Almería province: 41,212 count 41,212 Badajoz province Badajoz province: 40,494 count 40,494 Castellón province Castellón province: 39,228 count 39,228 Cantabria province Cantabria province: 37,696 count 37,696 Valladolid province Valladolid province: 33,587 count 33,587 Lleida province Lleida province: 33,329 count 33,329 Jaén province Jaén province: 33,250 count 33,250 León province León province: 31,427 count 31,427 Ciudad Real province Ciudad Real province: 30,315 count 30,315 Albacete province Albacete province: 26,884 count 26,884 Burgos province Burgos province: 25,583 count 25,583 Cáceres province Cáceres province: 24,990 count 24,990 Lugo province Lugo province: 24,353 count 24,353 Huelva province Huelva province: 23,953 count 23,953 La Rioja province La Rioja province: 23,076 count 23,076 Ourense province Ourense province: 23,061 count 23,061 Salamanca province Salamanca province: 22,259 count 22,259 Álava province Álava province: 20,034 count 20,034 Huesca province Huesca province: 16,396 count 16,396 Cuenca province Cuenca province: 13,623 count 13,623 Guadalajara province Guadalajara province: 13,359 count 13,359 Zamora province Zamora province: 11,701 count 11,701 Segovia province Segovia province: 10,806 count 10,806 Palencia province Palencia province: 10,131 count 10,131 Ávila province Ávila province: 10,080 count 10,080 Teruel province Teruel province: 9,274 count 9,274 Soria province Soria province: 5,790 count 5,790 Melilla province Melilla province: 4,349 count 4,349 Ceuta province Ceuta province: 3,762 count 3,762 count. Source: INE . Retrieved 2026-10-07.
Full ranking Rank Provinces 2016count Change on 2015 1 Madrid province 516,412 +1.5% 2 Barcelona province 450,451 +2.1% 3 Valencia province 172,204 +1% 4 Alicante province 133,124 +2.1% 5 Málaga province 115,447 +3.3% 6 Seville province 113,653 +1.8% 7 Murcia province 92,008 +2.2% 8 Balearic Islands province 89,341 +2.6% 9 A Coruña province 82,156 +0.9% 10 Biscay province 79,166 +1.9% 11 Las Palmas province 70,613 +2.1% 12 Pontevedra province 67,968 +1.3% 13 Asturias province 67,675 +0.3% 14 Santa Cruz de Tenerife province 65,296 +2.6% 15 Zaragoza province 64,655 +0.4% 16 Girona province 60,529 +2.6% 17 Cádiz province 58,658 +1.5% 18 Granada province 56,884 +2.1% 19 Gipuzkoa province 52,016 +1.4% 20 Tarragona province 51,887 +1.7% 21 Córdoba province 46,290 +0.7% 22 Navarre province 43,907 +1.8% 23 Toledo province 42,240 0% 24 Almería province 41,212 +2.2% 25 Badajoz province 40,494 +2.2% 26 Castellón province 39,228 +1.4% 27 Cantabria province 37,696 +1% 28 Valladolid province 33,587 +0.8% 29 Lleida province 33,329 +0.3% 30 Jaén province 33,250 +0.7% 31 León province 31,427 +0.1% 32 Ciudad Real province 30,315 +0.7% 33 Albacete province 26,884 +0.7% 34 Burgos province 25,583 +1.1% 35 Cáceres province 24,990 +0.6% 36 Lugo province 24,353 +1.1% 37 Huelva province 23,953 +0.7% 38 La Rioja province 23,076 -0% 39 Ourense province 23,061 +0.3% 40 Salamanca province 22,259 -0.3% 41 Álava province 20,034 +2.5% 42 Huesca province 16,396 +0.6% 43 Cuenca province 13,623 +0.4% 44 Guadalajara province 13,359 +1.4% 45 Zamora province 11,701 -0.1% 46 Segovia province 10,806 +0.3% 47 Palencia province 10,131 -1% 48 Ávila province 10,080 -0.9% 49 Teruel province 9,274 +1.3% 50 Soria province 5,790 -1.9% 51 Melilla province 4,349 +6% 52 Ceuta province 3,762 +0.3%
Other periods
About this ranking Active companies on 1 January (INE Central Business Directory, DIRCE).
Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the provinces are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.
How to cite Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE). Directorio central de empresas: empresas activas por provincia (tabla 302). https://www.ine.es/jaxiT3/Tabla.htm?t=302. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
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Questions Which province has the highest active companies? Madrid province, with 516,412 in 2016, according to the Instituto Nacional de Estadística.
Which province has the lowest active companies? Ceuta province, with 3,762 in 2016.
Where does this ranking come from? Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Directorio central de empresas: empresas activas por provincia (tabla 302). Retrieved 2026-10-07.
Active companies: other rankings
Provinces of Spain: more rankings