Data / Rankings / Enterprise births / EU countries

EU countries by enterprise births

France had the highest enterprise births of 27 EU countries in 2021, at 780,499. Luxembourg had the lowest, at 3,584. The median was 63,597 and the figure for the European Union (27) was 3.4 million. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

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Highest780,499France
Lowest3,584Luxembourg
Median63,59727 EU countries
European Union (27)3,401,779History

Map of EU countries, 2021

Austria: 35,371 countBelgium: 65,482 countBulgaria: 38,314 countCyprus: 8,433 countCzechia: 110,112 countGermany: 245,746 countDenmark: 32,800 countEstonia: 34,811 countSpain: 314,033 countFinland: 40,327 countFrance: 780,499 countGreece: 63,597 countCroatia: 23,942 countHungary: 113,547 countIreland: 37,597 countItaly: 360,246 countLithuania: 57,981 countLuxembourg: 3,584 countLatvia: 18,048 countMalta: 7,521 countNetherlands: 225,992 countPoland: 327,008 countPortugal: 177,144 countRomania: 107,150 countSweden: 84,458 countSlovenia: 20,017 countSlovakia: 68,019 count
  • Under 26K
  • 26K to 39K
  • 39K to 78K
  • 78K to 220K
  • 220K and over
count, 2021. Source: Eurostat, Business demography by size class and NACE Rev. 2 activity, industry, construction and market services, all size classes, enterprise births, number (bd_size). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All EU countries, 2021

France: 780,499 countFrance780,499Italy: 360,246 countItaly360,246Poland: 327,008 countPoland327,008Spain: 314,033 countSpain314,033Germany: 245,746 countGermany245,746Netherlands: 225,992 countNetherlands225,992Portugal: 177,144 countPortugal177,144Hungary: 113,547 countHungary113,547Czechia: 110,112 countCzechia110,112Romania: 107,150 countRomania107,150Sweden: 84,458 countSweden84,458Slovakia: 68,019 countSlovakia68,019Belgium: 65,482 countBelgium65,482Greece: 63,597 countGreece63,597Lithuania: 57,981 countLithuania57,981Finland: 40,327 countFinland40,327Bulgaria: 38,314 countBulgaria38,314Ireland: 37,597 countIreland37,597Austria: 35,371 countAustria35,371Estonia: 34,811 countEstonia34,811Denmark: 32,800 countDenmark32,800Croatia: 23,942 countCroatia23,942Slovenia: 20,017 countSlovenia20,017Latvia: 18,048 countLatvia18,048Cyprus: 8,433 countCyprus8,433Malta: 7,521 countMalta7,521Luxembourg: 3,584 countLuxembourg3,584France: 780,499 countFrance780,499Italy: 360,246 countItaly360,246Poland: 327,008 countPoland327,008Spain: 314,033 countSpain314,033Germany: 245,746 countGermany245,746Netherlands: 225,992 countNetherlands225,992Portugal: 177,144 countPortugal177,144Hungary: 113,547 countHungary113,547Czechia: 110,112 countCzechia110,112Romania: 107,150 countRomania107,150Sweden: 84,458 countSweden84,458Slovakia: 68,019 countSlovakia68,019Belgium: 65,482 countBelgium65,482Greece: 63,597 countGreece63,597Lithuania: 57,981 countLithuania57,981Finland: 40,327 countFinland40,327Bulgaria: 38,314 countBulgaria38,314Ireland: 37,597 countIreland37,597Austria: 35,371 countAustria35,371Estonia: 34,811 countEstonia34,811Denmark: 32,800 countDenmark32,800Croatia: 23,942 countCroatia23,942Slovenia: 20,017 countSlovenia20,017Latvia: 18,048 countLatvia18,048Cyprus: 8,433 countCyprus8,433Malta: 7,521 countMalta7,521Luxembourg: 3,584 countLuxembourg3,584
count. Source: Eurostat, Business demography by size class and NACE Rev. 2 activity, industry, construction and market services, all size classes, enterprise births, number (bd_size). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankEU countries2021
count		Change on 2020
1France Series break780,499n/a
2Italy Series break360,246n/a
3Poland327,008n/a
4Spain Series break314,033n/a
5Germany245,746n/a
6Netherlands225,992n/a
7Portugal Series break177,144n/a
8Hungary113,547n/a
9Czechia110,112n/a
10Romania107,150n/a
11Sweden84,458n/a
12Slovakia68,019n/a
13Belgium65,482n/a
14Greece Series break63,597n/a
15Lithuania57,981n/a
16Finland Series break40,327+5.2%
17Bulgaria38,314n/a
18Ireland37,597n/a
19Austria35,371n/a
20Estonia Series break34,811n/a
21Denmark32,800n/a
22Croatia23,942n/a
23Slovenia20,017n/a
24Latvia18,048n/a
25Cyprus8,433n/a
26Malta Series break7,521n/a
27Luxembourg3,584n/a

Other periods

About this ranking

New enterprises created during the year from scratch. Enterprises formed by a merger, break-up or change of legal form, and enterprises reactivated within two years, are not births.

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). Not comparable with companies_created (companies registered in Spain) or business_applications (US applications for an employer number).

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, enterprise births, number (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, enterprise births, number (bd_size) (EU countries by enterprise births, 2021) [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, enterprise births, number (bd_size), EU countries by enterprise births, 2021. Eurostat, European Commission, 2 Oct. 2026, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/bd_size/default/table. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/enterprise-births/eu-countries?period=2021. 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, enterprise births, number (bd_size). EU countries by enterprise births, 2021. 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-births/eu-countries?period=2021.

Harvard

Eurostat, European Commission (2026) Business demography by size class and NACE Rev. 2 activity, industry, construction and market services, all size classes, enterprise births, number (bd_size), EU countries by enterprise births, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/bd_size/default/table, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/enterprise-births/eu-countries?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_enterprise_2021,
  author = {{Eurostat, European Commission}},
  title = {{Business demography by size class and NACE Rev. 2 activity, industry, construction and market services, all size classes, enterprise births, number (bd\_size): EU countries by enterprise births, 2021}},
  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-births/eu-countries?period=2021. Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Business demography by size class and NACE Rev. 2 activity, industry, construction and market services, all size classes, enterprise births, number (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, enterprise births, number (bd_size): EU countries by enterprise births, 2021
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-births/eu-countries?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/enterprise-births/eu-countries?period=2021.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Business demography by size class and NACE Rev. 2 activity, industry, construction and market services, all size classes, enterprise births, number (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 births?

France, with 780,499 in 2021, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest enterprise births?

Luxembourg, with 3,584 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 NACE Rev. 2 activity, industry, construction and market services, all size classes, enterprise births, number (bd_size). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Enterprise births: other rankings

EU countries: more rankings