Data / Rankings / Enterprise birth rate / EU countries

EU countries by enterprise birth rate

Lithuania had the highest enterprise birth rate of 27 EU countries in 2023, at 19.63%. Austria had the lowest, at 6.23%. The median was 9.67% and the figure for the European Union (27) was 10.5%. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

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Highest19.63Lithuania
Lowest6.23Austria
Median9.6727 EU countries
European Union (27)10.5History

Map of EU countries, 2023

Austria: 6.23 %Belgium: 8.23 %Bulgaria: 10.72 %Cyprus: 9.67 %Czechia: 9.08 %Germany: 8.43 %Denmark: 7.26 %Estonia: 14.26 %Spain: 9.11 %Finland: 9 %France: 14.13 %Greece: 8.45 %Croatia: 12.51 %Hungary: 9.43 %Ireland: 11.85 %Italy: 7.78 %Lithuania: 19.63 %Luxembourg: 8.95 %Latvia: 12.89 %Malta: 17.13 %Netherlands: 9.41 %Poland: 11.46 %Portugal: 16.82 %Romania: 12.38 %Sweden: 8.69 %Slovenia: 10.46 %Slovakia: 11.74 %
  • Under 8.5
  • 8.5 to 9.2
  • 9.2 to 11
  • 11 to 13
  • 13 and over
%, 2023. Source: Eurostat, Business demography by size class and NACE Rev. 2 activity, industry, construction and market services, all size classes, birth rate, percentage of active enterprises (bd_size). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All EU countries, 2023

Lithuania: 19.63 %Lithuania19.63Malta: 17.13 %Malta17.13Portugal: 16.82 %Portugal16.82Estonia: 14.26 %Estonia14.26France: 14.13 %France14.13Latvia: 12.89 %Latvia12.89Croatia: 12.51 %Croatia12.51Romania: 12.38 %Romania12.38Ireland: 11.85 %Ireland11.85Slovakia: 11.74 %Slovakia11.74Poland: 11.46 %Poland11.46Bulgaria: 10.72 %Bulgaria10.72Slovenia: 10.46 %Slovenia10.46Cyprus: 9.67 %Cyprus9.67Hungary: 9.43 %Hungary9.43Netherlands: 9.41 %Netherlands9.41Spain: 9.11 %Spain9.11Czechia: 9.08 %Czechia9.08Finland: 9 %Finland9Luxembourg: 8.95 %Luxembourg8.95Sweden: 8.69 %Sweden8.69Greece: 8.45 %Greece8.45Germany: 8.43 %Germany8.43Belgium: 8.23 %Belgium8.23Italy: 7.78 %Italy7.78Denmark: 7.26 %Denmark7.26Austria: 6.23 %Austria6.23Lithuania: 19.63 %Lithuania19.63Malta: 17.13 %Malta17.13Portugal: 16.82 %Portugal16.82Estonia: 14.26 %Estonia14.26France: 14.13 %France14.13Latvia: 12.89 %Latvia12.89Croatia: 12.51 %Croatia12.51Romania: 12.38 %Romania12.38Ireland: 11.85 %Ireland11.85Slovakia: 11.74 %Slovakia11.74Poland: 11.46 %Poland11.46Bulgaria: 10.72 %Bulgaria10.72Slovenia: 10.46 %Slovenia10.46Cyprus: 9.67 %Cyprus9.67Hungary: 9.43 %Hungary9.43Netherlands: 9.41 %Netherlands9.41Spain: 9.11 %Spain9.11Czechia: 9.08 %Czechia9.08Finland: 9 %Finland9Luxembourg: 8.95 %Luxembourg8.95Sweden: 8.69 %Sweden8.69Greece: 8.45 %Greece8.45Germany: 8.43 %Germany8.43Belgium: 8.23 %Belgium8.23Italy: 7.78 %Italy7.78Denmark: 7.26 %Denmark7.26Austria: 6.23 %Austria6.23
%. Source: Eurostat, Business demography by size class and NACE Rev. 2 activity, industry, construction and market services, all size classes, birth rate, percentage of active enterprises (bd_size). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankEU countries2023 (%)Change on 2022
1Lithuania19.63+1.36 pts
2Malta17.13+2.82 pts
3Portugal16.82+0.08 pts
4Estonia14.26-2.37 pts
5France14.13-0.14 pts
6Latvia12.89-1.41 pts
7Croatia12.51+0.98 pts
8Romania12.38+0.33 pts
9Ireland11.85-0.35 pts
10Slovakia11.74-0.31 pts
11Poland11.46-0.76 pts
12Bulgaria10.72+0.71 pts
13Slovenia Series break10.46-0.74 pts
14Cyprus9.67-0.16 pts
15Hungary9.43+0.02 pts
16Netherlands9.41+0.13 pts
17Spain9.11+0.47 pts
18Czechia9.08+0.05 pts
19Finland9+0.05 pts
20Luxembourg Series break8.95-1.59 pts
21Sweden8.69-0.75 pts
22Greece8.45-1.38 pts
23Germany8.43+0.45 pts
24Belgium8.23-0.81 pts
25Italy7.78-0.12 pts
26Denmark7.26-0.16 pts
27Austria6.23+0.01 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Enterprise births in the year as a percentage of the enterprises active in the same year. A birth is a new enterprise created from scratch, not by a merger, break-up or reactivation.

Eurostat and OECD harmonised business demography. Not comparable with establishment_entry_rate, which counts new locations of US businesses, including branches of existing firms.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the EU countries are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

Eurostat. Business demography by size class and NACE Rev. 2 activity, industry, construction and market services, all size classes, birth rate, percentage of active enterprises (bd_size). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/bd_size/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 NACE Rev. 2 activity, industry, construction and market services, all size classes, birth rate, percentage of active enterprises (bd_size) (EU countries by enterprise birth rate, 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/bd_size/default/table

MLA 9

Business demography by size class and NACE Rev. 2 activity, industry, construction and market services, all size classes, birth rate, percentage of active enterprises (bd_size), EU countries by enterprise birth rate, 2023. Eurostat, European Commission, 2 Oct. 2026, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/bd_size/default/table. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/enterprise-birth-rate/eu-countries?period=2023. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Eurostat, European Commission. 2026. Business demography by size class and NACE Rev. 2 activity, industry, construction and market services, all size classes, birth rate, percentage of active enterprises (bd_size). EU countries by enterprise birth rate, 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/bd_size/default/table. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/enterprise-birth-rate/eu-countries?period=2023.

Harvard

Eurostat, European Commission (2026) Business demography by size class and NACE Rev. 2 activity, industry, construction and market services, all size classes, birth rate, percentage of active enterprises (bd_size), EU countries by enterprise birth rate, 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/bd_size/default/table, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/enterprise-birth-rate/eu-countries?period=2023 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_enterprise_2023,
  author = {{Eurostat, European Commission}},
  title = {{Business demography by size class and NACE Rev. 2 activity, industry, construction and market services, all size classes, birth rate, percentage of active enterprises (bd\_size): EU countries by enterprise birth rate, 2023}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/bd_size/default/table},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/enterprise-birth-rate/eu-countries?period=2023. Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Business demography by size class and NACE Rev. 2 activity, industry, construction and market services, all size classes, birth rate, percentage of active enterprises (bd\_size). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/bd\_size/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - Eurostat, European Commission
TI  - Business demography by size class and NACE Rev. 2 activity, industry, construction and market services, all size classes, birth rate, percentage of active enterprises (bd_size): EU countries by enterprise birth rate, 2023
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/02
PB  - Eurostat, European Commission
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/bd_size/default/table
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/enterprise-birth-rate/eu-countries?period=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/enterprise-birth-rate/eu-countries?period=2023.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Business demography by size class and NACE Rev. 2 activity, industry, construction and market services, all size classes, birth rate, percentage of active enterprises (bd_size). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/bd_size/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which EU country has the highest enterprise birth rate?

Lithuania, with 19.63% in 2023, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest enterprise birth rate?

Austria, with 6.23% 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 NACE Rev. 2 activity, industry, construction and market services, all size classes, birth rate, percentage of active enterprises (bd_size). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Enterprise birth rate: other rankings

EU countries: more rankings