Data / Rankings / Active companies / Autonomous communities of Spain

Autonomous communities of Spain by active companies

Catalonia had the highest active companies of 19 autonomous communities in 2018, at 618,366. Ceuta had the lowest, at 3,916. The median was 96,638 and the figure for Spain was 3.34 million. Source: the Instituto Nacional de Estadística.

Highest618,366Catalonia
Lowest3,916Ceuta
Median96,63819 autonomous communities
Spain3,337,646History

All autonomous communities, 2018

CSVChart (SVG)

CataloniaCatalonia: 618,366 count618,366Community of MadridCommunity of Madrid: 538,917 count538,917AndalusiaAndalusia: 509,137 count509,137Valencian CommunityValencian Community: 356,480 count356,480GaliciaGalicia: 200,801 count200,801Castile and LeónCastile and León: 161,986 count161,986Canary IslandsCanary Islands: 146,126 count146,126Basque CountryBasque Country: 144,357 count144,357Castilla-La ManchaCastilla-La Mancha: 127,643 count127,643Balearic IslandsBalearic Islands: 96,638 count96,638Region of MurciaRegion of Murcia: 95,544 count95,544AragonAragon: 91,493 count91,493AsturiasAsturias: 68,688 count68,688ExtremaduraExtremadura: 66,879 count66,879NavarreNavarre: 44,289 count44,289CantabriaCantabria: 38,522 count38,522La RiojaLa Rioja: 23,197 count23,197MelillaMelilla: 4,667 count4,667CeutaCeuta: 3,916 count3,916
count. Source: INE. Retrieved 2026-10-07.

Full ranking

RankAutonomous communities2018
count		Change on 2017
1Catalonia618,366+1.5%
2Community of Madrid538,917+2.4%
3Andalusia509,137+1.5%
4Valencian Community356,480+1.8%
5Galicia200,801+0.9%
6Castile and León161,986+0.2%
7Canary Islands146,126+3.2%
8Basque Country144,357+2.9%
9Castilla-La Mancha127,643+0.4%
10Balearic Islands96,638+3.8%
11Region of Murcia95,544+2.1%
12Aragon91,493+0.6%
13Asturias68,688+0.5%
14Extremadura66,879+1.6%
15Navarre44,289+0.4%
16Cantabria38,522+0.2%
17La Rioja23,197+0.1%
18Melilla4,667+3.2%
19Ceuta3,916+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 autonomous communities 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 autonomous community has the highest active companies?

Catalonia, with 618,366 in 2018, according to the Instituto Nacional de Estadística.

Which autonomous community has the lowest active companies?

Ceuta, 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

Autonomous communities of Spain: more rankings