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

NUTS 3 areas of Portugal by active enterprises

Grande Lisboa had the highest active enterprises of 26 areas in 2021, at 305,387. Alto Tâmega e Barroso had the lowest, at 8,278. The median was 25,311 and the figure for Portugal was 1.23 million. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

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Highest305,387Grande Lisboa
Lowest8,278Alto Tâmega e Barroso
Median25,31126 areas
Portugal1,231,887History

All areas, 2021

Grande Lisboa: 305,387 countGrande Lisboa305,387Área Metropolitana do Porto: 217,303 countÁrea Metropolitana do Porto217,303Península de Setúbal: 82,565 countPenínsula de Setúbal82,565Algarve: 70,927 countAlgarve70,927Região de Coimbra: 50,804 countRegião de Coimbra50,804Cávado: 49,152 countCávado49,152Ave: 42,842 countAve42,842Região de Aveiro: 42,000 countRegião de Aveiro42,000Oeste: 41,976 countOeste41,976Tâmega e Sousa: 38,623 countTâmega e Sousa38,623Região de Leiria: 36,200 countRegião de Leiria36,200Alto Minho: 26,186 countAlto Minho26,186Viseu Dão Lafões: 25,328 countViseu Dão Lafões25,328Região Autónoma da Madeira: 25,294 countRegião Autónoma da Madeira25,294Lezíria do Tejo: 21,900 countLezíria do Tejo21,900Região Autónoma dos Açores: 21,860 countRegião Autónoma dos Açores21,860Médio Tejo: 21,414 countMédio Tejo21,414Beiras e Serra da Estrela: 20,206 countBeiras e Serra da Estrela20,206Douro: 17,190 countDouro17,190Alentejo Central: 16,146 countAlentejo Central16,146Terras de Trás-os-Montes: 11,033 countTerras de Trás-os-Montes11,033Baixo Alentejo: 10,642 countBaixo Alentejo10,642Alentejo Litoral: 9,578 countAlentejo Litoral9,578Alto Alentejo: 9,538 countAlto Alentejo9,538Beira Baixa: 9,515 countBeira Baixa9,515Alto Tâmega e Barroso: 8,278 countAlto Tâmega e Barroso8,278Grande Lisboa: 305,387 countGrande Lisboa305,387Área Metropolitana do Porto: 217,303 countÁrea Metropolitana do Porto217,303Península de Setúbal: 82,565 countPenínsula de Setúbal82,565Algarve: 70,927 countAlgarve70,927Região de Coimbra: 50,804 countRegião de Coimbra50,804Cávado: 49,152 countCávado49,152Ave: 42,842 countAve42,842Região de Aveiro: 42,000 countRegião de Aveiro42,000Oeste: 41,976 countOeste41,976Tâmega e Sousa: 38,623 countTâmega e Sousa38,623Região de Leiria: 36,200 countRegião de Leiria36,200Alto Minho: 26,186 countAlto Minho26,186Viseu Dão Lafões: 25,328 countViseu Dão Lafões25,328Região Autónoma da Madeira: 25,294 countRegião Autónoma da Madeira25,294Lezíria do Tejo: 21,900 countLezíria do Tejo21,900Região Autónoma dos Açores: 21,860 countRegião Autónoma dos Açores21,860Médio Tejo: 21,414 countMédio Tejo21,414Beiras e Serra da Estrela: 20,206 countBeiras e Serra da Estrela20,206Douro: 17,190 countDouro17,190Alentejo Central: 16,146 countAlentejo Central16,146Terras de Trás-os-Montes: 11,033 countTerras de Trás-os-Montes11,033Baixo Alentejo: 10,642 countBaixo Alentejo10,642Alentejo Litoral: 9,578 countAlentejo Litoral9,578Alto Alentejo: 9,538 countAlto Alentejo9,538Beira Baixa: 9,515 countBeira Baixa9,515Alto Tâmega e Barroso: 8,278 countAlto Tâmega e Barroso8,278
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

RankAreas2021
count
1Grande Lisboa305,387
2Área Metropolitana do Porto217,303
3Península de Setúbal82,565
4Algarve70,927
5Região de Coimbra50,804
6Cávado49,152
7Ave42,842
8Região de Aveiro42,000
9Oeste41,976
10Tâmega e Sousa38,623
11Região de Leiria36,200
12Alto Minho26,186
13Viseu Dão Lafões25,328
14Região Autónoma da Madeira25,294
15Lezíria do Tejo21,900
16Região Autónoma dos Açores21,860
17Médio Tejo21,414
18Beiras e Serra da Estrela20,206
19Douro17,190
20Alentejo Central16,146
21Terras de Trás-os-Montes11,033
22Baixo Alentejo10,642
23Alentejo Litoral9,578
24Alto Alentejo9,538
25Beira Baixa9,515
26Alto Tâmega e Barroso8,278

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 Portugal by active enterprises, 2021) [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, 2021. 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?period=2021. 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, 2021. 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?period=2021.

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, 2021 [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?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{eurostat_nuts_3_areas_of_2021,
  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, 2021}},
  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?period=2021. 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, 2021
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?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/active-enterprises/portugal-provinces?period=2021.
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 305,387 in 2021, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which area has the lowest active enterprises?

Alto Tâmega e Barroso, with 8,278 in 2021.

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 Portugal: more rankings