Data / Rankings / Active enterprises / Provinces of Spain

Provinces of Spain by active enterprises

Madrid province had the highest active enterprises of 49 provinces in 2021, at 537,752. Ceuta province had the lowest, at 3,707. The median was 36,591 and the figure for Spain was 3.42 million. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

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Highest537,752Madrid province
Lowest3,707Ceuta province
Median36,59149 provinces
Spain3,416,248History

Map of provinces, 2021

Álava province: 18,214 countAlbacete province: 26,569 countAlicante province: 146,947 countAlmería province: 45,739 countÁvila province: 10,297 countBadajoz province: 41,864 countBarcelona province: 481,905 countBurgos province: 22,891 countCáceres province: 25,484 countCádiz province: 66,823 countCastellón province: 41,768 countCiudad Real province: 30,506 countCórdoba province: 49,656 countA Coruña province: 81,145 countCuenca province: 13,552 countGirona province: 64,958 countGranada province: 64,321 countGuadalajara province: 14,016 countGipuzkoa province: 48,594 countHuelva province: 26,755 countHuesca province: 15,807 countJaén province: 36,591 countLeón province: 30,041 countLleida province: 33,306 countLa Rioja province: 22,679 countLugo province: 24,010 countMadrid province: 537,752 countMálaga province: 139,442 countMurcia province: 98,533 countNavarre province: 40,361 countOurense province: 22,387 countAsturias province: 69,230 countPalencia province: 9,560 countPontevedra province: 69,133 countSalamanca province: 21,977 countCantabria province: 39,609 countSegovia province: 10,985 countSeville province: 126,474 countSoria province: 5,668 countTarragona province: 55,418 countTeruel province: 9,037 countToledo province: 46,242 countValencia province: 189,769 countValladolid province: 32,986 countBiscay province: 74,735 countZamora province: 11,150 countZaragoza province: 63,538 countCeuta province: 3,707 countMelilla province: 5,004 count
  • Under 14K
  • 14K to 24K
  • 24K to 37K
  • 37K to 50K
  • 50K to 75K
  • 75K and over
  • No data
count, 2021. Hatched areas have no value for this period. Source: Eurostat, Business demography by size class and NUTS 3 region, industry, construction and market services, all size classes, enterprises, number (bd_size_r). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All provinces, 2021

Madrid province: 537,752 countMadrid province537,752Barcelona province: 481,905 countBarcelona province481,905Valencia province: 189,769 countValencia province189,769Alicante province: 146,947 countAlicante province146,947Málaga province: 139,442 countMálaga province139,442Seville province: 126,474 countSeville province126,474Murcia province: 98,533 countMurcia province98,533A Coruña province: 81,145 countA Coruña province81,145Biscay province: 74,735 countBiscay province74,735Asturias province: 69,230 countAsturias province69,230Pontevedra province: 69,133 countPontevedra province69,133Cádiz province: 66,823 countCádiz province66,823Girona province: 64,958 countGirona province64,958Granada province: 64,321 countGranada province64,321Zaragoza province: 63,538 countZaragoza province63,538Tarragona province: 55,418 countTarragona province55,418Córdoba province: 49,656 countCórdoba province49,656Gipuzkoa province: 48,594 countGipuzkoa province48,594Toledo province: 46,242 countToledo province46,242Almería province: 45,739 countAlmería province45,739Badajoz province: 41,864 countBadajoz province41,864Castellón province: 41,768 countCastellón province41,768Navarre province: 40,361 countNavarre province40,361Cantabria province: 39,609 countCantabria province39,609Jaén province: 36,591 countJaén province36,591Lleida province: 33,306 countLleida province33,306Valladolid province: 32,986 countValladolid province32,986Ciudad Real province: 30,506 countCiudad Real province30,506León province: 30,041 countLeón province30,041Huelva province: 26,755 countHuelva province26,755Albacete province: 26,569 countAlbacete province26,569Cáceres province: 25,484 countCáceres province25,484Lugo province: 24,010 countLugo province24,010Burgos province: 22,891 countBurgos province22,891La Rioja province: 22,679 countLa Rioja province22,679Ourense province: 22,387 countOurense province22,387Salamanca province: 21,977 countSalamanca province21,977Álava province: 18,214 countÁlava province18,214Huesca province: 15,807 countHuesca province15,807Guadalajara province: 14,016 countGuadalajara province14,016Cuenca province: 13,552 countCuenca province13,552Zamora province: 11,150 countZamora province11,150Segovia province: 10,985 countSegovia province10,985Ávila province: 10,297 countÁvila province10,297Palencia province: 9,560 countPalencia province9,560Teruel province: 9,037 countTeruel province9,037Soria province: 5,668 countSoria province5,668Melilla province: 5,004 countMelilla province5,004Ceuta province: 3,707 countCeuta province3,707Madrid province: 537,752 countMadrid province537,752Barcelona province: 481,905 countBarcelona province481,905Valencia province: 189,769 countValencia province189,769Alicante province: 146,947 countAlicante province146,947Málaga province: 139,442 countMálaga province139,442Seville province: 126,474 countSeville province126,474Murcia province: 98,533 countMurcia province98,533A Coruña province: 81,145 countA Coruña province81,145Biscay province: 74,735 countBiscay province74,735Asturias province: 69,230 countAsturias province69,230Pontevedra province: 69,133 countPontevedra province69,133Cádiz province: 66,823 countCádiz province66,823Girona province: 64,958 countGirona province64,958Granada province: 64,321 countGranada province64,321Zaragoza province: 63,538 countZaragoza province63,538Tarragona province: 55,418 countTarragona province55,418Córdoba province: 49,656 countCórdoba province49,656Gipuzkoa province: 48,594 countGipuzkoa province48,594Toledo province: 46,242 countToledo province46,242Almería province: 45,739 countAlmería province45,739Badajoz province: 41,864 countBadajoz province41,864Castellón province: 41,768 countCastellón province41,768Navarre province: 40,361 countNavarre province40,361Cantabria province: 39,609 countCantabria province39,609Jaén province: 36,591 countJaén province36,591Lleida province: 33,306 countLleida province33,306Valladolid province: 32,986 countValladolid province32,986Ciudad Real province: 30,506 countCiudad Real province30,506León province: 30,041 countLeón province30,041Huelva province: 26,755 countHuelva province26,755Albacete province: 26,569 countAlbacete province26,569Cáceres province: 25,484 countCáceres province25,484Lugo province: 24,010 countLugo province24,010Burgos province: 22,891 countBurgos province22,891La Rioja province: 22,679 countLa Rioja province22,679Ourense province: 22,387 countOurense province22,387Salamanca province: 21,977 countSalamanca province21,977Álava province: 18,214 countÁlava province18,214Huesca province: 15,807 countHuesca province15,807Guadalajara province: 14,016 countGuadalajara province14,016Cuenca province: 13,552 countCuenca province13,552Zamora province: 11,150 countZamora province11,150Segovia province: 10,985 countSegovia province10,985Ávila province: 10,297 countÁvila province10,297Palencia province: 9,560 countPalencia province9,560Teruel province: 9,037 countTeruel province9,037Soria province: 5,668 countSoria province5,668Melilla province: 5,004 countMelilla province5,004Ceuta province: 3,707 countCeuta province3,707
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

RankProvinces2021
count
1Madrid province Series break537,752
2Barcelona province Series break481,905
3Valencia province Series break189,769
4Alicante province Series break146,947
5Málaga province Series break139,442
6Seville province Series break126,474
7Murcia province Series break98,533
8A Coruña province Series break81,145
9Biscay province Series break74,735
10Asturias province Series break69,230
11Pontevedra province Series break69,133
12Cádiz province Series break66,823
13Girona province Series break64,958
14Granada province Series break64,321
15Zaragoza province Series break63,538
16Tarragona province Series break55,418
17Córdoba province Series break49,656
18Gipuzkoa province Series break48,594
19Toledo province Series break46,242
20Almería province Series break45,739
21Badajoz province Series break41,864
22Castellón province Series break41,768
23Navarre province Series break40,361
24Cantabria province Series break39,609
25Jaén province Series break36,591
26Lleida province Series break33,306
27Valladolid province Series break32,986
28Ciudad Real province Series break30,506
29León province Series break30,041
30Huelva province Series break26,755
31Albacete province Series break26,569
32Cáceres province Series break25,484
33Lugo province Series break24,010
34Burgos province Series break22,891
35La Rioja province Series break22,679
36Ourense province Series break22,387
37Salamanca province Series break21,977
38Álava province Series break18,214
39Huesca province Series break15,807
40Guadalajara province Series break14,016
41Cuenca province Series break13,552
42Zamora province Series break11,150
43Segovia province Series break10,985
44Ávila province Series break10,297
45Palencia province Series break9,560
46Teruel province Series break9,037
47Soria province Series break5,668
48Melilla province Series break5,004
49Ceuta province Series break3,707

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 provinces 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) (Provinces of Spain 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), Provinces of Spain 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/spain-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). Provinces of Spain 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/spain-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), Provinces of Spain 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/spain-provinces?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{eurostat_provinces_of_spain_by_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): Provinces of Spain 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/spain-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): Provinces of Spain 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/spain-provinces?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/active-enterprises/spain-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 province has the highest active enterprises?

Madrid province, with 537,752 in 2021, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which province has the lowest active enterprises?

Ceuta province, with 3,707 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

Provinces of Spain: more rankings