Data / Rankings / Active companies / Provinces of Spain
Provinces of Spain by active companies
Madrid province had the highest active companies of 52 provinces in 2018, at 538,917. Ceuta province had the lowest, at 3,916. The median was 39,161 and the figure for Spain was 3.34 million. Source: the Instituto Nacional de Estadística.
Madrid province Madrid province: 538,917 count 538,917 Barcelona province Barcelona province: 468,777 count 468,777 Valencia province Valencia province: 177,717 count 177,717 Alicante province Alicante province: 138,964 count 138,964 Málaga province Málaga province: 123,109 count 123,109 Seville province Seville province: 117,385 count 117,385 Balearic Islands province Balearic Islands province: 96,638 count 96,638 Murcia province Murcia province: 95,544 count 95,544 A Coruña province A Coruña province: 83,313 count 83,313 Las Palmas province Las Palmas province: 75,753 count 75,753 Biscay province Biscay province: 75,628 count 75,628 Santa Cruz de Tenerife province Santa Cruz de Tenerife province: 70,373 count 70,373 Pontevedra province Pontevedra province: 69,437 count 69,437 Asturias province Asturias province: 68,688 count 68,688 Zaragoza province Zaragoza province: 65,645 count 65,645 Girona province Girona province: 62,984 count 62,984 Cádiz province Cádiz province: 60,690 count 60,690 Granada province Granada province: 59,115 count 59,115 Tarragona province Tarragona province: 52,921 count 52,921 Gipuzkoa province Gipuzkoa province: 49,582 count 49,582 Córdoba province Córdoba province: 47,209 count 47,209 Navarre province Navarre province: 44,289 count 44,289 Toledo province Toledo province: 43,289 count 43,289 Almería province Almería province: 42,931 count 42,931 Badajoz province Badajoz province: 41,490 count 41,490 Castellón province Castellón province: 39,799 count 39,799 Cantabria province Cantabria province: 38,522 count 38,522 Jaén province Jaén province: 34,030 count 34,030 Valladolid province Valladolid province: 33,998 count 33,998 Lleida province Lleida province: 33,684 count 33,684 León province León province: 31,276 count 31,276 Ciudad Real province Ciudad Real province: 30,588 count 30,588 Albacete province Albacete province: 26,743 count 26,743 Burgos province Burgos province: 26,031 count 26,031 Cáceres province Cáceres province: 25,389 count 25,389 Lugo province Lugo province: 24,760 count 24,760 Huelva province Huelva province: 24,668 count 24,668 Ourense province Ourense province: 23,291 count 23,291 La Rioja province La Rioja province: 23,197 count 23,197 Salamanca province Salamanca province: 22,373 count 22,373 Álava province Álava province: 19,147 count 19,147 Huesca province Huesca province: 16,503 count 16,503 Cuenca province Cuenca province: 13,655 count 13,655 Guadalajara province Guadalajara province: 13,368 count 13,368 Zamora province Zamora province: 11,632 count 11,632 Segovia province Segovia province: 10,793 count 10,793 Ávila province Ávila province: 10,170 count 10,170 Palencia province Palencia province: 10,024 count 10,024 Teruel province Teruel province: 9,345 count 9,345 Soria province Soria province: 5,689 count 5,689 Melilla province Melilla province: 4,667 count 4,667 Ceuta province Ceuta province: 3,916 count 3,916 count. Source: INE . Retrieved 2026-10-07. Full ranking Rank Provinces 2018count Change on 2017 1 Madrid province 538,917 +2.4% 2 Barcelona province 468,777 +1.7% 3 Valencia province 177,717 +1.6% 4 Alicante province 138,964 +2.6% 5 Málaga province 123,109 +3% 6 Seville province 117,385 +1.3% 7 Balearic Islands province 96,638 +3.8% 8 Murcia province 95,544 +2.1% 9 A Coruña province 83,313 +1.1% 10 Las Palmas province 75,753 +3% 11 Biscay province 75,628 +2.9% 12 Santa Cruz de Tenerife province 70,373 +3.5% 13 Pontevedra province 69,437 +0.9% 14 Asturias province 68,688 +0.5% 15 Zaragoza province 65,645 +0.8% 16 Girona province 62,984 +1.5% 17 Cádiz province 60,690 +0.9% 18 Granada province 59,115 +1.2% 19 Tarragona province 52,921 +0.7% 20 Gipuzkoa province 49,582 +2.7% 21 Córdoba province 47,209 +0.2% 22 Navarre province 44,289 +0.4% 23 Toledo province 43,289 +1% 24 Almería province 42,931 +1.4% 25 Badajoz province 41,490 +1.8% 26 Castellón province 39,799 +0.5% 27 Cantabria province 38,522 +0.2% 28 Jaén province 34,030 +0.6% 29 Valladolid province 33,998 +0.1% 30 Lleida province 33,684 +0.2% 31 León province 31,276 +0.3% 32 Ciudad Real province 30,588 +0.6% 33 Albacete province 26,743 -0.7% 34 Burgos province 26,031 +0.9% 35 Cáceres province 25,389 +1.3% 36 Lugo province 24,760 +0.9% 37 Huelva province 24,668 +1% 38 Ourense province 23,291 +0.7% 39 La Rioja province 23,197 +0.1% 40 Salamanca province 22,373 +0.1% 41 Álava province 19,147 +3.4% 42 Huesca province 16,503 +0.2% 43 Cuenca province 13,655 +0.2% 44 Guadalajara province 13,368 +0.7% 45 Zamora province 11,632 -0.1% 46 Segovia province 10,793 +0.5% 47 Ávila province 10,170 -0.1% 48 Palencia province 10,024 0% 49 Teruel province 9,345 +0.5% 50 Soria province 5,689 -0.9% 51 Melilla province 4,667 +3.2% 52 Ceuta province 3,916 +1.9%
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 538,917 in 2018, according to the Instituto Nacional de Estadística.
Which province has the lowest active companies? Ceuta province, with 3,916 in 2018.
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 