Data / Rankings / Active enterprises / Regions of Portugal (NUTS 2)

Regions of Portugal (NUTS 2) by active enterprises, 2023

Norte had the highest active enterprises of 9 regions in 2023, at 459,822. Região Autónoma dos Açores had the lowest, at 24,512. The median was 95,587 and the figure for Portugal was 1.4 million. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

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Highest459,822Norte
Lowest24,512Região Autónoma dos Açores
Median95,5879 regions
Portugal1,404,910History

All regions, 2023

Norte: 459,822 countNorte459,822Grande Lisboa: 356,570 countGrande Lisboa356,570Centro (PT): 202,114 countCentro (PT)202,114Península de Setúbal: 98,277 countPenínsula de Setúbal98,277Oeste e Vale do Tejo: 95,587 countOeste e Vale do Tejo95,587Algarve: 88,524 countAlgarve88,524Alentejo: 50,101 countAlentejo50,101Região Autónoma da Madeira: 29,403 countRegião Autónoma da Madeira29,403Região Autónoma dos Açores: 24,512 countRegião Autónoma dos Açores24,512Norte: 459,822 countNorte459,822Grande Lisboa: 356,570 countGrande Lisboa356,570Centro (PT): 202,114 countCentro (PT)202,114Península de Setúbal: 98,277 countPenínsula de Setúbal98,277Oeste e Vale do Tejo: 95,587 countOeste e Vale do Tejo95,587Algarve: 88,524 countAlgarve88,524Alentejo: 50,101 countAlentejo50,101Região Autónoma da Madeira: 29,403 countRegião Autónoma da Madeira29,403Região Autónoma dos Açores: 24,512 countRegião Autónoma dos Açores24,512
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

RankRegions2023
count		Change on 2022
1Norte459,822+4.6%
2Grande Lisboa356,570+7%
3Centro (PT)202,114+4.1%
4Península de Setúbal98,277+8.1%
5Oeste e Vale do Tejo95,587+4.9%
6Algarve88,524+9.2%
7Alentejo50,101+3.7%
8Região Autónoma da Madeira29,403+6.6%
9Região Autónoma dos Açores24,512+5.3%

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 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

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) (Regions of Portugal (NUTS 2) 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), Regions of Portugal (NUTS 2) 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-regions. 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 Portugal (NUTS 2) 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-regions.

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 Portugal (NUTS 2) 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-regions (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{eurostat_regions_of_portugal_nuts_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): Regions of Portugal (NUTS 2) 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-regions. 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 Portugal (NUTS 2) 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-regions
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/active-enterprises/portugal-regions.
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 region has the highest active enterprises?

Norte, with 459,822 in 2023, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which region has the lowest active enterprises?

Região Autónoma dos Açores, with 24,512 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

Regions of Portugal (NUTS 2): more rankings