NUTS 3 areas of Portugal by active enterprises, 2023

Grande Lisboa had the highest active enterprises of 26 areas in 2023, at 356,570. Alto Tâmega e Barroso had the lowest, at 8,799. The median was 28,437 and the figure for Portugal was 1.4 million. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest356,570Grande Lisboa

Lowest8,799Alto Tâmega e Barroso

Median28,43726 areas

Portugal1,404,910History

All areas, 2023

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

Rank	Areas	2023 count	Change on 2022
1	Grande Lisboa	356,570	+7%
2	Área Metropolitana do Porto	247,900	+5%
3	Península de Setúbal	98,277	+8.1%
4	Algarve	88,524	+9.2%
5	Região de Coimbra	55,856	+4.7%
6	Cávado	55,334	+5.5%
7	Oeste	47,883	+5.8%
8	Ave	46,936	+4.1%
9	Região de Aveiro	46,543	+4.5%
10	Tâmega e Sousa	41,634	+2.9%
11	Região de Leiria	40,148	+4.2%
12	Região Autónoma da Madeira	29,403	+6.6%
13	Alto Minho	29,084	+5%
14	Viseu Dão Lafões	27,789	+4%
15	Região Autónoma dos Açores	24,512	+5.3%
16	Lezíria do Tejo	24,347	+4.2%
17	Médio Tejo	23,357	+3.9%
18	Beiras e Serra da Estrela	21,506	+2.2%
19	Douro	18,510	+3.5%
20	Alentejo Central	17,147	+1.9%
21	Terras de Trás-os-Montes	11,625	+1.3%
22	Baixo Alentejo	11,544	+3.6%
23	Alentejo Litoral	11,228	+7.7%
24	Beira Baixa	10,272	+2.9%
25	Alto Alentejo	10,182	+2.5%
26	Alto Tâmega e Barroso	8,799	+2.3%

Other periods

2023
2022
2021

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 Portugal 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 Portugal 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/portugal-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 Portugal 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/portugal-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 Portugal 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/portugal-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 Portugal 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/portugal-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 Portugal 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/portugal-provinces
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/active-enterprises/portugal-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?

Grande Lisboa, with 356,570 in 2023, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which area has the lowest active enterprises?

Alto Tâmega e Barroso, with 8,799 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.