Data / Rankings / Active companies / Provinces of Spain
Provinces of Spain by active companies
Madrid province had the highest active companies of 52 provinces in 2021, at 547,040. Ceuta province had the lowest, at 3,749. The median was 39,628 and the figure for Spain was 3.37 million. Source: the Instituto Nacional de Estadística.
Madrid province Madrid province: 547,040 count 547,040 Barcelona province Barcelona province: 471,885 count 471,885 Valencia province Valencia province: 182,851 count 182,851 Alicante province Alicante province: 144,573 count 144,573 Málaga province Málaga province: 130,632 count 130,632 Seville province Seville province: 122,491 count 122,491 Balearic Islands province Balearic Islands province: 98,120 count 98,120 Murcia province Murcia province: 95,294 count 95,294 A Coruña province A Coruña province: 80,233 count 80,233 Las Palmas province Las Palmas province: 76,204 count 76,204 Biscay province Biscay province: 73,615 count 73,615 Santa Cruz de Tenerife province Santa Cruz de Tenerife province: 71,795 count 71,795 Pontevedra province Pontevedra province: 68,043 count 68,043 Asturias province Asturias province: 67,573 count 67,573 Girona province Girona province: 64,258 count 64,258 Cádiz province Cádiz province: 63,833 count 63,833 Zaragoza province Zaragoza province: 63,411 count 63,411 Granada province Granada province: 61,148 count 61,148 Tarragona province Tarragona province: 53,764 count 53,764 Córdoba province Córdoba province: 48,126 count 48,126 Gipuzkoa province Gipuzkoa province: 47,581 count 47,581 Toledo province Toledo province: 44,524 count 44,524 Almería province Almería province: 44,437 count 44,437 Navarre province Navarre province: 44,334 count 44,334 Badajoz province Badajoz province: 41,122 count 41,122 Castellón province Castellón province: 40,620 count 40,620 Cantabria province Cantabria province: 38,636 count 38,636 Jaén province Jaén province: 34,754 count 34,754 Lleida province Lleida province: 33,060 count 33,060 Valladolid province Valladolid province: 32,732 count 32,732 Ciudad Real province Ciudad Real province: 30,036 count 30,036 León province León province: 30,006 count 30,006 Albacete province Albacete province: 26,221 count 26,221 Huelva province Huelva province: 25,739 count 25,739 Cáceres province Cáceres province: 25,264 count 25,264 Burgos province Burgos province: 25,238 count 25,238 Lugo province Lugo province: 24,059 count 24,059 La Rioja province La Rioja province: 22,357 count 22,357 Ourense province Ourense province: 22,322 count 22,322 Salamanca province Salamanca province: 21,915 count 21,915 Álava province Álava province: 18,628 count 18,628 Huesca province Huesca province: 16,152 count 16,152 Guadalajara province Guadalajara province: 13,498 count 13,498 Cuenca province Cuenca province: 13,394 count 13,394 Zamora province Zamora province: 11,130 count 11,130 Segovia province Segovia province: 10,756 count 10,756 Ávila province Ávila province: 10,045 count 10,045 Palencia province Palencia province: 9,639 count 9,639 Teruel province Teruel province: 9,039 count 9,039 Soria province Soria province: 5,670 count 5,670 Melilla province Melilla province: 5,024 count 5,024 Ceuta province Ceuta province: 3,749 count 3,749 count. Source: INE . Retrieved 2026-10-07.
Full ranking Rank Provinces 2021count Change on 2020 1 Madrid province 547,040 -0.9% 2 Barcelona province 471,885 -1.2% 3 Valencia province 182,851 -0.8% 4 Alicante province 144,573 -0.6% 5 Málaga province 130,632 -0.6% 6 Seville province 122,491 +0.5% 7 Balearic Islands province 98,120 -1.9% 8 Murcia province 95,294 -1.5% 9 A Coruña province 80,233 -1.7% 10 Las Palmas province 76,204 -3.3% 11 Biscay province 73,615 -2.3% 12 Santa Cruz de Tenerife province 71,795 -2.9% 13 Pontevedra province 68,043 -1.5% 14 Asturias province 67,573 -1.3% 15 Girona province 64,258 -0.2% 16 Cádiz province 63,833 +0.7% 17 Zaragoza province 63,411 -2.2% 18 Granada province 61,148 -0.4% 19 Tarragona province 53,764 -0.8% 20 Córdoba province 48,126 -0.4% 21 Gipuzkoa province 47,581 -2.5% 22 Toledo province 44,524 -0.5% 23 Almería province 44,437 +0.8% 24 Navarre province 44,334 -0.2% 25 Badajoz province 41,122 -1.3% 26 Castellón province 40,620 -0.4% 27 Cantabria province 38,636 -0.6% 28 Jaén province 34,754 -0.1% 29 Lleida province 33,060 -1.3% 30 Valladolid province 32,732 -2.2% 31 Ciudad Real province 30,036 -1.3% 32 León province 30,006 -2.7% 33 Albacete province 26,221 -0.5% 34 Huelva province 25,739 -0.1% 35 Cáceres province 25,264 -1.6% 36 Burgos province 25,238 -1.4% 37 Lugo province 24,059 -1.5% 38 La Rioja province 22,357 -1.5% 39 Ourense province 22,322 -1.6% 40 Salamanca province 21,915 -2.1% 41 Álava province 18,628 -1.2% 42 Huesca province 16,152 -2.4% 43 Guadalajara province 13,498 -0.8% 44 Cuenca province 13,394 -1.5% 45 Zamora province 11,130 -2.4% 46 Segovia province 10,756 -0.6% 47 Ávila province 10,045 -1.5% 48 Palencia province 9,639 -1.8% 49 Teruel province 9,039 -2.6% 50 Soria province 5,670 -0.3% 51 Melilla province 5,024 -4% 52 Ceuta province 3,749 -2.5%
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 547,040 in 2021, according to the Instituto Nacional de Estadística.
Which province has the lowest active companies? Ceuta province, with 3,749 in 2021.
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