Data / Rankings / Active companies / Provinces of Spain
Provinces of Spain by active companies
Madrid province had the highest active companies of 52 provinces in 2017, at 526,156. Ceuta province had the lowest, at 3,844. The median was 39,023 and the figure for Spain was 3.28 million. Source: the Instituto Nacional de Estadística.
Madrid province Madrid province: 526,156 count 526,156 Barcelona province Barcelona province: 460,778 count 460,778 Valencia province Valencia province: 174,999 count 174,999 Alicante province Alicante province: 135,480 count 135,480 Málaga province Málaga province: 119,512 count 119,512 Seville province Seville province: 115,932 count 115,932 Murcia province Murcia province: 93,574 count 93,574 Balearic Islands province Balearic Islands province: 93,067 count 93,067 A Coruña province A Coruña province: 82,403 count 82,403 Las Palmas province Las Palmas province: 73,570 count 73,570 Biscay province Biscay province: 73,488 count 73,488 Pontevedra province Pontevedra province: 68,831 count 68,831 Asturias province Asturias province: 68,368 count 68,368 Santa Cruz de Tenerife province Santa Cruz de Tenerife province: 68,025 count 68,025 Zaragoza province Zaragoza province: 65,144 count 65,144 Girona province Girona province: 62,036 count 62,036 Cádiz province Cádiz province: 60,169 count 60,169 Granada province Granada province: 58,436 count 58,436 Tarragona province Tarragona province: 52,544 count 52,544 Gipuzkoa province Gipuzkoa province: 48,284 count 48,284 Córdoba province Córdoba province: 47,101 count 47,101 Navarre province Navarre province: 44,120 count 44,120 Toledo province Toledo province: 42,878 count 42,878 Almería province Almería province: 42,329 count 42,329 Badajoz province Badajoz province: 40,773 count 40,773 Castellón province Castellón province: 39,586 count 39,586 Cantabria province Cantabria province: 38,459 count 38,459 Valladolid province Valladolid province: 33,967 count 33,967 Jaén province Jaén province: 33,842 count 33,842 Lleida province Lleida province: 33,623 count 33,623 León province León province: 31,173 count 31,173 Ciudad Real province Ciudad Real province: 30,404 count 30,404 Albacete province Albacete province: 26,921 count 26,921 Burgos province Burgos province: 25,811 count 25,811 Cáceres province Cáceres province: 25,071 count 25,071 Lugo province Lugo province: 24,549 count 24,549 Huelva province Huelva province: 24,424 count 24,424 La Rioja province La Rioja province: 23,167 count 23,167 Ourense province Ourense province: 23,140 count 23,140 Salamanca province Salamanca province: 22,347 count 22,347 Álava province Álava province: 18,518 count 18,518 Huesca province Huesca province: 16,464 count 16,464 Cuenca province Cuenca province: 13,625 count 13,625 Guadalajara province Guadalajara province: 13,274 count 13,274 Zamora province Zamora province: 11,643 count 11,643 Segovia province Segovia province: 10,738 count 10,738 Ávila province Ávila province: 10,178 count 10,178 Palencia province Palencia province: 10,021 count 10,021 Teruel province Teruel province: 9,295 count 9,295 Soria province Soria province: 5,741 count 5,741 Melilla province Melilla province: 4,524 count 4,524 Ceuta province Ceuta province: 3,844 count 3,844 count. Source: INE . Retrieved 2026-10-07. Full ranking Rank Provinces 2017count Change on 2016 1 Madrid province 526,156 +1.9% 2 Barcelona province 460,778 +2.3% 3 Valencia province 174,999 +1.6% 4 Alicante province 135,480 +1.8% 5 Málaga province 119,512 +3.5% 6 Seville province 115,932 +2% 7 Murcia province 93,574 +1.7% 8 Balearic Islands province 93,067 +4.2% 9 A Coruña province 82,403 +0.3% 10 Las Palmas province 73,570 +4.2% 11 Biscay province 73,488 -7.2% 12 Pontevedra province 68,831 +1.3% 13 Asturias province 68,368 +1% 14 Santa Cruz de Tenerife province 68,025 +4.2% 15 Zaragoza province 65,144 +0.8% 16 Girona province 62,036 +2.5% 17 Cádiz province 60,169 +2.6% 18 Granada province 58,436 +2.7% 19 Tarragona province 52,544 +1.3% 20 Gipuzkoa province 48,284 -7.2% 21 Córdoba province 47,101 +1.8% 22 Navarre province 44,120 +0.5% 23 Toledo province 42,878 +1.5% 24 Almería province 42,329 +2.7% 25 Badajoz province 40,773 +0.7% 26 Castellón province 39,586 +0.9% 27 Cantabria province 38,459 +2% 28 Valladolid province 33,967 +1.1% 29 Jaén province 33,842 +1.8% 30 Lleida province 33,623 +0.9% 31 León province 31,173 -0.8% 32 Ciudad Real province 30,404 +0.3% 33 Albacete province 26,921 +0.1% 34 Burgos province 25,811 +0.9% 35 Cáceres province 25,071 +0.3% 36 Lugo province 24,549 +0.8% 37 Huelva province 24,424 +2% 38 La Rioja province 23,167 +0.4% 39 Ourense province 23,140 +0.3% 40 Salamanca province 22,347 +0.4% 41 Álava province 18,518 -7.6% 42 Huesca province 16,464 +0.4% 43 Cuenca province 13,625 0% 44 Guadalajara province 13,274 -0.6% 45 Zamora province 11,643 -0.5% 46 Segovia province 10,738 -0.6% 47 Ávila province 10,178 +1% 48 Palencia province 10,021 -1.1% 49 Teruel province 9,295 +0.2% 50 Soria province 5,741 -0.8% 51 Melilla province 4,524 +4% 52 Ceuta province 3,844 +2.2%
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.Use this data in your AI agent Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:
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Questions Which province has the highest active companies? Madrid province, with 526,156 in 2017, according to the Instituto Nacional de Estadística.
Which province has the lowest active companies? Ceuta province, with 3,844 in 2017.
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 