Data / Rankings / Active enterprises / NUTS 3 areas of Germany

NUTS 3 areas of Germany by active enterprises, 2023

Berlin had the highest active enterprises of 400 areas in 2023, at 170,919. Zweibrücken, Kreisfreie Stadt had the lowest, at 1,158. The median was 5,592 and the figure for Germany was 3.19 million. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest170,919Berlin
Lowest1,158Zweibrücken, Kreisfreie Stadt
Median5,592400 areas
Germany3,190,747History

Top 40 areas, 2023

Berlin: 170,919 countBerlin170,919Hamburg: 91,932 countHamburg91,932München, Kreisfreie Stadt: 80,686 countMünchen, Kreisfreie Stadt80,686Köln, Kreisfreie Stadt: 52,376 countKöln, Kreisfreie Stadt52,376Region Hannover: 40,718 countRegion Hannover40,718Frankfurt am Main, Kreisfreie Stadt: 37,455 countFrankfurt am Main, Kreisfreie Sta…37,455Düsseldorf, Kreisfreie Stadt: 35,274 countDüsseldorf, Kreisfreie Stadt35,274Stuttgart, Stadtkreis: 26,251 countStuttgart, Stadtkreis26,251München, Landkreis: 24,794 countMünchen, Landkreis24,794Rhein-Sieg-Kreis: 22,940 countRhein-Sieg-Kreis22,940Leipzig, Kreisfreie Stadt: 22,140 countLeipzig, Kreisfreie Stadt22,140Rhein-Neckar-Kreis: 21,675 countRhein-Neckar-Kreis21,675Städteregion Aachen: 21,374 countStädteregion Aachen21,374Mettmann: 21,212 countMettmann21,212Nürnberg, Kreisfreie Stadt: 20,954 countNürnberg, Kreisfreie Stadt20,954Esslingen: 20,647 countEsslingen20,647Essen, Kreisfreie Stadt: 19,877 countEssen, Kreisfreie Stadt19,877Ludwigsburg: 19,773 countLudwigsburg19,773Dresden, Kreisfreie Stadt: 19,733 countDresden, Kreisfreie Stadt19,733Bremen, Kreisfreie Stadt: 19,642 countBremen, Kreisfreie Stadt19,642Dortmund, Kreisfreie Stadt: 19,001 countDortmund, Kreisfreie Stadt19,001Recklinghausen: 18,502 countRecklinghausen18,502Rhein-Kreis Neuss: 18,296 countRhein-Kreis Neuss18,296Rhein-Erft-Kreis: 17,569 countRhein-Erft-Kreis17,569Rems-Murr-Kreis: 17,087 countRems-Murr-Kreis17,087Karlsruhe, Landkreis: 17,065 countKarlsruhe, Landkreis17,065Ortenaukreis: 16,599 countOrtenaukreis16,599Main-Kinzig-Kreis: 16,394 countMain-Kinzig-Kreis16,394Offenbach, Landkreis: 16,107 countOffenbach, Landkreis16,107Wesel: 15,950 countWesel15,950Borken: 15,176 countBorken15,176Steinfurt: 14,925 countSteinfurt14,925Rosenheim, Landkreis: 14,503 countRosenheim, Landkreis14,503Böblingen: 13,927 countBöblingen13,927Gütersloh: 13,713 countGütersloh13,713Märkischer Kreis: 13,618 countMärkischer Kreis13,618Duisburg, Kreisfreie Stadt: 13,102 countDuisburg, Kreisfreie Stadt13,102Bonn, Kreisfreie Stadt: 12,955 countBonn, Kreisfreie Stadt12,955Viersen: 12,930 countViersen12,930Wuppertal, Kreisfreie Stadt: 12,711 countWuppertal, Kreisfreie Stadt12,711
count. Source: Eurostat, Business demography by size class and NUTS 3 region, industry, construction and market services, all size classes, enterprises, number (bd_size_r). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankAreas2023
count		Change on 2022
1Berlin170,919+1.1%
2Hamburg91,932+2%
3München, Kreisfreie Stadt80,686+1.5%
4Köln, Kreisfreie Stadt52,376+0.7%
5Region Hannover40,718+0.7%
6Frankfurt am Main, Kreisfreie Stadt37,455+1.3%
7Düsseldorf, Kreisfreie Stadt35,274+0.7%
8Stuttgart, Stadtkreis26,2510%
9München, Landkreis24,794+2.7%
10Rhein-Sieg-Kreis22,940+1.2%
11Leipzig, Kreisfreie Stadt22,140+1.4%
12Rhein-Neckar-Kreis21,675+1.6%
13Städteregion Aachen21,374+1.2%
14Mettmann21,212+1.7%
15Nürnberg, Kreisfreie Stadt20,954+0.9%
16Esslingen20,647+1.2%
17Essen, Kreisfreie Stadt19,877+0.2%
18Ludwigsburg19,773+0.6%
19Dresden, Kreisfreie Stadt19,733-0.7%
20Bremen, Kreisfreie Stadt19,642+0.7%
21Dortmund, Kreisfreie Stadt19,001+1.3%
22Recklinghausen18,502+1.5%
23Rhein-Kreis Neuss18,296+1.3%
24Rhein-Erft-Kreis17,569+1%
25Rems-Murr-Kreis17,087+1.1%
26Karlsruhe, Landkreis17,065+1.4%
27Ortenaukreis16,599+1.9%
28Main-Kinzig-Kreis16,394+0.9%
29Offenbach, Landkreis16,107+1%
30Wesel15,950+0.6%
31Borken15,176+0.9%
32Steinfurt14,925+1.3%
33Rosenheim, Landkreis14,503+1.6%
34Böblingen13,927+0.5%
35Gütersloh13,713+0.9%
36Märkischer Kreis13,618-0.2%
37Duisburg, Kreisfreie Stadt13,102+0.2%
38Bonn, Kreisfreie Stadt12,955+0.6%
39Viersen12,930+0.8%
40Wuppertal, Kreisfreie Stadt12,711-0.1%
41Mannheim, Stadtkreis12,5680%
42Pinneberg12,549+0.4%
43Wiesbaden, Kreisfreie Stadt12,539-0.3%
44Wetteraukreis12,503+1.4%
45Heilbronn, Landkreis12,421+0.1%
46Ravensburg12,401+1%
47Regionalverband Saarbrücken12,395+0.2%
48Karlsruhe, Stadtkreis12,382+0.5%
49Osnabrück, Landkreis12,280+1.2%
50Erzgebirgskreis12,242-1.2%
51Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis12,226+0.2%
52Kleve12,088+2.2%
53Unna12,041+0.5%
54Hochtaunuskreis12,003+0.8%
55Münster, Kreisfreie Stadt11,945+0.8%
56Bochum, Kreisfreie Stadt11,924+0.3%
57Lippe11,891+1%
58Konstanz11,780+1.7%
59Bielefeld, Kreisfreie Stadt11,744+0.1%
60Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis11,726-0.3%
61Emsland11,572+1.2%
62Paderborn11,560+0.6%
63Reutlingen11,509+0.7%
64Ostalbkreis11,390+1.7%
65Bergstraße11,313-0%
66Darmstadt-Dieburg11,275+0.2%
67Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald11,223+1.1%
68Augsburg, Kreisfreie Stadt11,216+2.7%
69Soest10,983+1.5%
70Segeberg10,949+0.6%
71Main-Taunus-Kreis10,834+0.2%
72Minden-Lübbecke10,726-0.5%
73Stormarn10,693+1%
74Zwickau10,601-0.7%
75Harburg10,445+1.7%
76Mittelsachsen10,437-0.6%
77Augsburg, Landkreis10,384+1.5%
78Hochsauerlandkreis10,352+0.5%
79Göttingen10,118-0.1%
80Oberbergischer Kreis10,023+0.7%
81Mönchengladbach, Kreisfreie Stadt9,887+0.7%
82Bautzen9,861-1%
83Gießen, Landkreis9,850+0.8%
84Rendsburg-Eckernförde9,812+1.3%
85Göppingen9,788+0.7%
86Fürstenfeldbruck9,784+2.1%
87Freiburg im Breisgau, Stadtkreis9,733+1.5%
88Heinsberg9,669+1.9%
89Nordfriesland9,6660%
90Warendorf9,655+1.3%
91Starnberg9,614+2%
92Leipzig9,467+0.1%
93Herford9,396+1%
94Bodenseekreis9,336+1.1%
95Groß-Gerau9,276+2%
96Lahn-Dill-Kreis9,193+0.3%
97Düren9,185+0.5%
98Ostholstein9,114-0.3%
99Potsdam-Mittelmark8,997+0.3%
100Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge8,993-0.6%
101Siegen-Wittgenstein8,903+0.2%
102Passau, Landkreis8,885+2.6%
103Krefeld, Kreisfreie Stadt8,846+1.2%
104Vorpommern-Rügen8,839-0.1%
105Traunstein8,692+2.2%
106Meißen8,689+0.1%
107Coesfeld8,464+0.9%
108Mecklenburgische Seenplatte8,393-0.4%
109Mainz, Kreisfreie Stadt8,341+0.2%
110Vogtlandkreis8,333-0.9%
111Oberallgäu8,322+2.1%
112Chemnitz, Kreisfreie Stadt8,287-0.8%
113Hildesheim8,238+0.6%
114Görlitz8,227-0.7%
115Diepholz8,224+0.7%
116Schwarzwald-Baar-Kreis8,1510%
117Fulda8,122+1.2%
118Landkreis Rostock8,105-0.6%
119Tübingen, Landkreis8,094+1.5%
120Westerwaldkreis8,085+1.5%
121Lörrach8,051+1%
122Schleswig-Flensburg7,940+1.1%
123Vorpommern-Greifswald7,828+0.7%
124Enzkreis7,811+0.1%
125Braunschweig, Kreisfreie Stadt7,798-0.8%
126Mainz-Bingen7,785+1.4%
127Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis7,763+0.6%
128Zollernalbkreis7,720+0.7%
129Rastatt7,675+0.2%
130Freising7,672+1.5%
131Mayen-Koblenz7,646+1%
132Kiel, Kreisfreie Stadt7,637+0.3%
133Euskirchen7,566+1.9%
134Marburg-Biedenkopf7,561+0.5%
135Oberhavel7,531+0.7%
136Schwäbisch Hall7,459+0.7%
137Aschaffenburg, Landkreis7,425+1.1%
138Kassel, Kreisfreie Stadt7,396+0.4%
139Lübeck, Kreisfreie Stadt7,374-0.1%
140Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen7,373+0.8%
141Märkisch-Oderland7,366-0.4%
142Biberach7,315+2%
143Alb-Donau-Kreis7,282+0.5%
144Erfurt, Kreisfreie Stadt7,277+0.8%
145Kassel, Landkreis7,251+1.1%
146Herzogtum Lauenburg7,179+1.6%
147Dachau7,161+1.6%
148Ansbach, Landkreis7,152+1.1%
149Neuwied7,114+1.3%
150Magdeburg, Kreisfreie Stadt7,098+0.2%
151Limburg-Weilburg7,074-1%
152Dahme-Spreewald7,051+3.6%
152Regensburg, Landkreis7,051+2.4%
154Ebersberg6,949+0.7%
155Potsdam, Kreisfreie Stadt6,943+2%
156Saarlouis6,942+0.8%
157Nürnberger Land6,940+0.5%
158Gelsenkirchen, Kreisfreie Stadt6,830+1.1%
159Ludwigslust-Parchim6,807-0.9%
160Barnim6,804+0.6%
161Nordsachsen6,792-0.9%
162Landshut, Landkreis6,728+1.5%
163Miesbach6,681+1%
164Stade6,653+0.3%
165Ostallgäu6,641+0.6%
166Heidelberg, Stadtkreis6,640+0.9%
167Teltow-Fläming6,635+0.1%
168Aurich6,627+0.7%
169Darmstadt, Kreisfreie Stadt6,623+0.3%
170Cloppenburg6,621+1.8%
171Regensburg, Kreisfreie Stadt6,606+2.1%
172Emmendingen6,581+0.9%
173Lüneburg, Landkreis6,542+1.5%
174Solingen, Kreisfreie Stadt6,5390%
175Unterallgäu6,526+1.8%
176Harz6,511-0.9%
177Landsberg am Lech6,385+2.2%
178Neu-Ulm6,378+0.7%
179Weilheim-Schongau6,307+0.7%
180Waldshut6,247+0.9%
181Halle (Saale), Kreisfreie Stadt6,245-0.7%
182Erding6,228+3%
183Rostock, Kreisfreie Stadt6,2130%
184Oberhausen, Kreisfreie Stadt6,190+0.8%
185Osnabrück, Kreisfreie Stadt6,180+1.5%
186Mülheim an der Ruhr, Kreisfreie Stadt6,165+1%
187Oldenburg (Oldenburg), Kreisfreie Stadt6,153+1.2%
188Aichach-Friedberg6,150+1.9%
189Oder-Spree6,013-0.8%
190Cuxhaven5,989+1.8%
191Calw5,986+0.5%
192Rottal-Inn5,914+1.5%
193Würzburg, Landkreis5,872+0.8%
194Vechta5,794+0.9%
195Rotenburg (Wümme)5,791+0.2%
196Hagen, Kreisfreie Stadt5,746+0.1%
197Celle5,745+1.2%
198Rottweil5,724+0.6%
199Leverkusen, Kreisfreie Stadt5,653+4.3%
200Bad Kreuznach5,629-0.2%
201Offenbach am Main, Kreisfreie Stadt5,554+2%
202Cham5,552+1.1%
203Würzburg, Kreisfreie Stadt5,546+0.5%
204Havelland5,527+1.7%
205Leer5,515+0.3%
206Neumarkt i. d. OPf.5,513+1.5%
207Tuttlingen5,490+0.4%
208Waldeck-Frankenberg5,474+0.9%
209Schwalm-Eder-Kreis5,453+0.5%
210Schwandorf5,436+1.6%
211Miltenberg5,372+1.9%
212Ahrweiler5,358+1.3%
213Garmisch-Partenkirchen5,353+1.1%
214Dithmarschen5,348+1.8%
215Donau-Ries5,335+0.7%
216Saarpfalz-Kreis5,323-0.4%
217Roth5,289+0.6%
218Günzburg5,229+0.6%
219Bad Dürkheim5,223+1%
220Deggendorf5,196+1.7%
221Ulm, Stadtkreis5,183+0.8%
222Saalekreis5,178-0.3%
223Schaumburg5,176+1.5%
224Nordwestmecklenburg5,175-0.1%
225Burgenlandkreis5,166-0.5%
226Pfaffenhofen a. d. Ilm5,148+1.2%
227Mühldorf a. Inn5,061+0.3%
228Sigmaringen5,041+1.1%
229Heilbronn, Stadtkreis5,034+0.3%
230Hamm, Kreisfreie Stadt5,011+2.2%
231Salzlandkreis4,996-2.4%
232Bamberg, Landkreis4,989+1.6%
233Kelheim4,983+1.9%
234Berchtesgadener Land4,973+1.6%
235Ammerland4,969+0.4%
236Fürth, Kreisfreie Stadt4,909+0.7%
237Hameln-Pyrmont4,898+0.7%
238Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis4,891+0.6%
239Olpe4,873+0.8%
239Pforzheim, Stadtkreis4,873-0.8%
241Grafschaft Bentheim4,862+2.6%
242Oldenburg, Landkreis4,852+1.8%
243Höxter4,813+1.1%
244Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis4,790+0.5%
245Verden4,774+2.9%
246Erlangen-Höchstadt4,754+2.5%
247Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Kreisfreie Stadt4,724+2%
248Heidekreis4,715+1.5%
249Main-Tauber-Kreis4,705+0.5%
250Wartburgkreis4,659-1.6%

Showing the top 250 of 400. The Excel download has every row.

Other periods

About this ranking

Enterprises that had turnover or employment at any time during the year, with or without employees.

Counts enterprises, which can run several local units, under the harmonised Eurostat and OECD business demography rules. Not the same as active_companies (the INE business register count for Spain) or employer_firms (US firms with employees). For the UK it counts every enterprise active at some point in the year, so it differs from registered_enterprises_total (UK Business Counts), a snapshot of the register in March.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the areas are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

Eurostat. Business demography by size class and NUTS 3 region, industry, construction and market services, all size classes, enterprises, number (bd_size_r). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/bd_size_r/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

Eurostat, European Commission. (2026). Business demography by size class and NUTS 3 region, industry, construction and market services, all size classes, enterprises, number (bd_size_r) (NUTS 3 areas of Germany by active enterprises, 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/bd_size_r/default/table

MLA 9

Business demography by size class and NUTS 3 region, industry, construction and market services, all size classes, enterprises, number (bd_size_r), NUTS 3 areas of Germany by active enterprises, 2023. Eurostat, European Commission, 13 Mar. 2026, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/bd_size_r/default/table. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/active-enterprises/germany-provinces. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Eurostat, European Commission. 2026. Business demography by size class and NUTS 3 region, industry, construction and market services, all size classes, enterprises, number (bd_size_r). NUTS 3 areas of Germany by active enterprises, 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/bd_size_r/default/table. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/active-enterprises/germany-provinces.

Harvard

Eurostat, European Commission (2026) Business demography by size class and NUTS 3 region, industry, construction and market services, all size classes, enterprises, number (bd_size_r), NUTS 3 areas of Germany by active enterprises, 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/bd_size_r/default/table, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/active-enterprises/germany-provinces (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{eurostat_nuts_3_areas_of_2023,
  author = {{Eurostat, European Commission}},
  title = {{Business demography by size class and NUTS 3 region, industry, construction and market services, all size classes, enterprises, number (bd\_size\_r): NUTS 3 areas of Germany by active enterprises, 2023}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/bd_size_r/default/table},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/active-enterprises/germany-provinces. Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Business demography by size class and NUTS 3 region, industry, construction and market services, all size classes, enterprises, number (bd\_size\_r). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/bd\_size\_r/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - Eurostat, European Commission
TI  - Business demography by size class and NUTS 3 region, industry, construction and market services, all size classes, enterprises, number (bd_size_r): NUTS 3 areas of Germany by active enterprises, 2023
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/03/13
PB  - Eurostat, European Commission
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/bd_size_r/default/table
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/active-enterprises/germany-provinces
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/active-enterprises/germany-provinces.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Business demography by size class and NUTS 3 region, industry, construction and market services, all size classes, enterprises, number (bd_size_r). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/bd_size_r/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which area has the highest active enterprises?

Berlin, with 170,919 in 2023, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which area has the lowest active enterprises?

Zweibrücken, Kreisfreie Stadt, with 1,158 in 2023.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Eurostat, European Commission, Business demography by size class and NUTS 3 region, industry, construction and market services, all size classes, enterprises, number (bd_size_r). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Active enterprises: other rankings

NUTS 3 areas of Germany: more rankings