Regions of Netherlands (NUTS 2) by active enterprises
Zuid-Holland had the highest active enterprises of 12 regions in 2022, at 477,024. Zeeland had the lowest, at 40,742. The median was 114,877 and the figure for the Netherlands was 2.2 million. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.
All regions, 2022
Full ranking
| Rank | Regions | 2022 | Change on 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zuid-Holland | 477,024 | |
| 2 | Noord-Holland | 462,557 | +7.5% |
| 3 | Noord-Brabant | 317,098 | +6.7% |
| 4 | Gelderland | 247,552 | +6.9% |
| 5 | Utrecht | 192,417 | |
| 6 | Overijssel | 118,760 | +6.6% |
| 7 | Limburg (NL) | 110,994 | +6.2% |
| 8 | Friesland (NL) | 70,516 | +6.2% |
| 9 | Groningen | 58,870 | +6.3% |
| 10 | Flevoland | 52,657 | +9.3% |
| 11 | Drenthe | 49,500 | +5.8% |
| 12 | Zeeland | 40,742 | +6.4% |
Other periods
- 2023
- 2022
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 regions 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
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) (Regions of Netherlands (NUTS 2) by active enterprises, 2022) [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), Regions of Netherlands (NUTS 2) by active enterprises, 2022. 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/netherlands-regions?period=2022. 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). Regions of Netherlands (NUTS 2) by active enterprises, 2022. 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/netherlands-regions?period=2022.
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), Regions of Netherlands (NUTS 2) by active enterprises, 2022 [Dataset]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/bd_size_r/default/table, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/active-enterprises/netherlands-regions?period=2022 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{eurostat_regions_of_netherlands_nuts_2022,
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): Regions of Netherlands (NUTS 2) by active enterprises, 2022}},
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/netherlands-regions?period=2022. 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): Regions of Netherlands (NUTS 2) by active enterprises, 2022
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/netherlands-regions?period=2022
Y2 - 2026/10/12
N1 - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/active-enterprises/netherlands-regions?period=2022.
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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Rank Regions of Netherlands by active enterprises using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"active_enterprises","level":"region","within":"Netherlands","limit":10}
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Questions
Which region has the highest active enterprises?
Zuid-Holland, with 477,024 in 2022, according to Eurostat, European Commission.
Which region has the lowest active enterprises?
Zeeland, with 40,742 in 2022.
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
- Regions of Austria (NUTS 2)
- Regions of Finland (NUTS 2)
- Autonomous communities of Spain
- NUTS 3 areas of Croatia
- NUTS 3 areas of Ireland
- NUTS 3 areas of Poland
Regions of Netherlands (NUTS 2): more rankings
- Local units in transportation and storage
- Local units in wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles
- Enterprise birth rate
- Enterprise death rate
- Internet use in the last 3 months
- Adult participation in education and training, ages 25 to 64
- R&D expenditure share of GDP
- Households with internet access at home