NUTS 3 areas of Germany by enterprise births

Berlin had the highest enterprise births of 394 areas in 2021, at 18,091. Zweibrücken, Kreisfreie Stadt had the lowest, at 78. The median was 407 and the figure for Germany was 245,746. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest18,091Berlin
Median407394 areas
Germany245,746History

Top 40 areas, 2021

Berlin: 18,091 countBerlin18,091Hamburg: 8,557 countHamburg8,557München, Kreisfreie Stadt: 7,534 countMünchen, Kreisfreie Stadt7,534Köln, Kreisfreie Stadt: 4,888 countKöln, Kreisfreie Stadt4,888Frankfurt am Main, Kreisfreie Stadt: 3,723 countFrankfurt am Main, Kreisfreie Sta…3,723Düsseldorf, Kreisfreie Stadt: 3,351 countDüsseldorf, Kreisfreie Stadt3,351Region Hannover: 3,348 countRegion Hannover3,348Stuttgart, Stadtkreis: 2,319 countStuttgart, Stadtkreis2,319München, Landkreis: 1,961 countMünchen, Landkreis1,961Bremen, Kreisfreie Stadt: 1,960 countBremen, Kreisfreie Stadt1,960Leipzig, Kreisfreie Stadt: 1,823 countLeipzig, Kreisfreie Stadt1,823Essen, Kreisfreie Stadt: 1,800 countEssen, Kreisfreie Stadt1,800Rhein-Sieg-Kreis: 1,780 countRhein-Sieg-Kreis1,780Nürnberg, Kreisfreie Stadt: 1,732 countNürnberg, Kreisfreie Stadt1,732Rhein-Neckar-Kreis: 1,705 countRhein-Neckar-Kreis1,705Mettmann: 1,683 countMettmann1,683Städteregion Aachen: 1,683 countStädteregion Aachen1,683Dortmund, Kreisfreie Stadt: 1,661 countDortmund, Kreisfreie Stadt1,661Ludwigsburg: 1,614 countLudwigsburg1,614Rhein-Kreis Neuss: 1,527 countRhein-Kreis Neuss1,527Esslingen: 1,520 countEsslingen1,520Recklinghausen: 1,463 countRecklinghausen1,463Rhein-Erft-Kreis: 1,459 countRhein-Erft-Kreis1,459Dresden, Kreisfreie Stadt: 1,446 countDresden, Kreisfreie Stadt1,446Offenbach, Landkreis: 1,370 countOffenbach, Landkreis1,370Main-Kinzig-Kreis: 1,336 countMain-Kinzig-Kreis1,336Duisburg, Kreisfreie Stadt: 1,280 countDuisburg, Kreisfreie Stadt1,280Karlsruhe, Landkreis: 1,277 countKarlsruhe, Landkreis1,277Rems-Murr-Kreis: 1,232 countRems-Murr-Kreis1,232Ortenaukreis: 1,219 countOrtenaukreis1,219Wesel: 1,215 countWesel1,215Mannheim, Stadtkreis: 1,200 countMannheim, Stadtkreis1,200Regionalverband Saarbrücken: 1,189 countRegionalverband Saarbrücken1,189Bonn, Kreisfreie Stadt: 1,160 countBonn, Kreisfreie Stadt1,160Wiesbaden, Kreisfreie Stadt: 1,157 countWiesbaden, Kreisfreie Stadt1,157Wuppertal, Kreisfreie Stadt: 1,140 countWuppertal, Kreisfreie Stadt1,140Böblingen: 1,112 countBöblingen1,112Karlsruhe, Stadtkreis: 1,088 countKarlsruhe, Stadtkreis1,088Steinfurt: 1,060 countSteinfurt1,060Bochum, Kreisfreie Stadt: 1,041 countBochum, Kreisfreie Stadt1,041Berlin: 18,091 countBerlin18,091Hamburg: 8,557 countHamburg8,557München, Kreisfreie Stadt: 7,534 countMünchen, Kreisfreie Stadt7,534Köln, Kreisfreie Stadt: 4,888 countKöln, Kreisfreie Stadt4,888Frankfurt am Main, Kreisfreie Stadt: 3,723 countFrankfurt am Main, Kreisfreie Stadt3,723Düsseldorf, Kreisfreie Stadt: 3,351 countDüsseldorf, Kreisfreie Stadt3,351Region Hannover: 3,348 countRegion Hannover3,348Stuttgart, Stadtkreis: 2,319 countStuttgart, Stadtkreis2,319München, Landkreis: 1,961 countMünchen, Landkreis1,961Bremen, Kreisfreie Stadt: 1,960 countBremen, Kreisfreie Stadt1,960Leipzig, Kreisfreie Stadt: 1,823 countLeipzig, Kreisfreie Stadt1,823Essen, Kreisfreie Stadt: 1,800 countEssen, Kreisfreie Stadt1,800Rhein-Sieg-Kreis: 1,780 countRhein-Sieg-Kreis1,780Nürnberg, Kreisfreie Stadt: 1,732 countNürnberg, Kreisfreie Stadt1,732Rhein-Neckar-Kreis: 1,705 countRhein-Neckar-Kreis1,705Mettmann: 1,683 countMettmann1,683Städteregion Aachen: 1,683 countStädteregion Aachen1,683Dortmund, Kreisfreie Stadt: 1,661 countDortmund, Kreisfreie Stadt1,661Ludwigsburg: 1,614 countLudwigsburg1,614Rhein-Kreis Neuss: 1,527 countRhein-Kreis Neuss1,527Esslingen: 1,520 countEsslingen1,520Recklinghausen: 1,463 countRecklinghausen1,463Rhein-Erft-Kreis: 1,459 countRhein-Erft-Kreis1,459Dresden, Kreisfreie Stadt: 1,446 countDresden, Kreisfreie Stadt1,446Offenbach, Landkreis: 1,370 countOffenbach, Landkreis1,370Main-Kinzig-Kreis: 1,336 countMain-Kinzig-Kreis1,336Duisburg, Kreisfreie Stadt: 1,280 countDuisburg, Kreisfreie Stadt1,280Karlsruhe, Landkreis: 1,277 countKarlsruhe, Landkreis1,277Rems-Murr-Kreis: 1,232 countRems-Murr-Kreis1,232Ortenaukreis: 1,219 countOrtenaukreis1,219Wesel: 1,215 countWesel1,215Mannheim, Stadtkreis: 1,200 countMannheim, Stadtkreis1,200Regionalverband Saarbrücken: 1,189 countRegionalverband Saarbrücken1,189Bonn, Kreisfreie Stadt: 1,160 countBonn, Kreisfreie Stadt1,160Wiesbaden, Kreisfreie Stadt: 1,157 countWiesbaden, Kreisfreie Stadt1,157Wuppertal, Kreisfreie Stadt: 1,140 countWuppertal, Kreisfreie Stadt1,140Böblingen: 1,112 countBöblingen1,112Karlsruhe, Stadtkreis: 1,088 countKarlsruhe, Stadtkreis1,088Steinfurt: 1,060 countSteinfurt1,060Bochum, Kreisfreie Stadt: 1,041 countBochum, Kreisfreie Stadt1,041
count. Source: Eurostat, Business demography by size class and NUTS 3 region, industry, construction and market services, all size classes, enterprise births, number (bd_size_r). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankAreas2021
count
1Berlin18,091
2Hamburg8,557
3München, Kreisfreie Stadt7,534
4Köln, Kreisfreie Stadt4,888
5Frankfurt am Main, Kreisfreie Stadt3,723
6Düsseldorf, Kreisfreie Stadt3,351
7Region Hannover3,348
8Stuttgart, Stadtkreis2,319
9München, Landkreis1,961
10Bremen, Kreisfreie Stadt1,960
11Leipzig, Kreisfreie Stadt1,823
12Essen, Kreisfreie Stadt1,800
13Rhein-Sieg-Kreis1,780
14Nürnberg, Kreisfreie Stadt1,732
15Rhein-Neckar-Kreis1,705
16Mettmann1,683
16Städteregion Aachen1,683
18Dortmund, Kreisfreie Stadt1,661
19Ludwigsburg1,614
20Rhein-Kreis Neuss1,527
21Esslingen1,520
22Recklinghausen1,463
23Rhein-Erft-Kreis1,459
24Dresden, Kreisfreie Stadt1,446
25Offenbach, Landkreis1,370
26Main-Kinzig-Kreis1,336
27Duisburg, Kreisfreie Stadt1,280
28Karlsruhe, Landkreis1,277
29Rems-Murr-Kreis1,232
30Ortenaukreis1,219
31Wesel1,215
32Mannheim, Stadtkreis1,200
33Regionalverband Saarbrücken1,189
34Bonn, Kreisfreie Stadt1,160
35Wiesbaden, Kreisfreie Stadt1,157
36Wuppertal, Kreisfreie Stadt1,140
37Böblingen1,112
38Karlsruhe, Stadtkreis1,088
39Steinfurt1,060
40Bochum, Kreisfreie Stadt1,041
41Wetteraukreis1,040
42Borken1,014
42Pinneberg1,014
44Gütersloh995
45Hochtaunuskreis990
45Viersen990
47Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis985
48Main-Taunus-Kreis954
49Bielefeld, Kreisfreie Stadt951
50Rosenheim, Landkreis949
51Freiburg im Breisgau, Stadtkreis946
52Unna937
53Augsburg, Kreisfreie Stadt930
54Münster, Kreisfreie Stadt929
55Konstanz926
56Heilbronn, Landkreis923
57Märkischer Kreis916
58Darmstadt-Dieburg904
59Bergstraße903
60Mönchengladbach, Kreisfreie Stadt895
60Ravensburg895
62Reutlingen892
63Kleve860
64Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis859
65Paderborn858
66Ostalbkreis857
67Osnabrück, Landkreis855
68Groß-Gerau852
69Emsland846
69Lippe846
71Mainz, Kreisfreie Stadt836
72Gießen, Landkreis829
73Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald821
74Segeberg818
75Harburg810
76Stormarn800
77Krefeld, Kreisfreie Stadt789
78Soest774
79Minden-Lübbecke756
80Rendsburg-Eckernförde740
81Nordfriesland739
82Göttingen737
83Starnberg736
84Augsburg, Landkreis731
85Düren725
86Göppingen723
87Kiel, Kreisfreie Stadt719
88Lahn-Dill-Kreis709
89Heinsberg705
89Tübingen, Landkreis705
91Gelsenkirchen, Kreisfreie Stadt703
92Kassel, Kreisfreie Stadt686
93Herford680
94Lörrach675
95Bodenseekreis673
96Warendorf669
97Oberbergischer Kreis658
98Ostholstein656
99Braunschweig, Kreisfreie Stadt647
100Mainz-Bingen645
101Fürstenfeldbruck639
101Westerwaldkreis639
103Hochsauerlandkreis633
103Marburg-Biedenkopf633
105Siegen-Wittgenstein627
106Heidelberg, Stadtkreis626
107Rastatt608
108Hildesheim604
109Diepholz602
110Schwarzwald-Baar-Kreis601
111Coesfeld600
112Offenbach am Main, Kreisfreie Stadt592
113Potsdam-Mittelmark591
114Darmstadt, Kreisfreie Stadt590
115Schleswig-Flensburg589
116Limburg-Weilburg587
117Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis582
118Oldenburg (Oldenburg), Kreisfreie Stadt580
119Osnabrück, Kreisfreie Stadt579
120Alb-Donau-Kreis576
121Saarlouis571
122Potsdam, Kreisfreie Stadt569
123Lübeck, Kreisfreie Stadt566
123Neuwied566
125Vorpommern-Rügen563
126Euskirchen561
127Freising559
128Regensburg, Kreisfreie Stadt558
128Stade558
130Zollernalbkreis555
131Mayen-Koblenz550
132Kassel, Landkreis547
133Dachau544
134Leverkusen, Kreisfreie Stadt542
135Ebersberg538
136Fulda532
137Herzogtum Lauenburg531
138Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Kreisfreie Stadt529
139Lüneburg, Landkreis526
140Biberach521
140Traunstein521
142Chemnitz, Kreisfreie Stadt520
142Schwäbisch Hall520
144Solingen, Kreisfreie Stadt519
145Oberallgäu517
146Enzkreis516
147Leipzig515
148Cloppenburg514
149Oberhavel511
150Oberhausen, Kreisfreie Stadt509
151Aurich506
151Mülheim an der Ruhr, Kreisfreie Stadt506
153Märkisch-Oderland498
154Landkreis Rostock496
154Mittelsachsen496
156Teltow-Fläming492
156Zwickau492
158Erzgebirgskreis491
159Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen488
159Calw488
161Neu-Ulm480
162Magdeburg, Kreisfreie Stadt479
163Ulm, Stadtkreis476
164Barnim474
165Hagen, Kreisfreie Stadt472
166Passau, Landkreis469
167Regensburg, Landkreis467
168Halle (Saale), Kreisfreie Stadt464
169Vorpommern-Greifswald462
170Dahme-Spreewald459
171Waldshut457
172Erfurt, Kreisfreie Stadt456
173Rostock, Kreisfreie Stadt451
174Bautzen448
175Aschaffenburg, Landkreis446
176Heilbronn, Stadtkreis445
177Miesbach443
178Emmendingen437
179Saarpfalz-Kreis432
180Celle429
181Nürnberger Land427
182Meißen425
183Mecklenburgische Seenplatte424
184Erding423
185Ostallgäu422
186Unterallgäu421
187Landshut, Landkreis419
187Tuttlingen419
189Leer411
190Aichach-Friedberg410
190Hamm, Kreisfreie Stadt410
190Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis410
193Bad Dürkheim408
193Bad Kreuznach408
193Pforzheim, Stadtkreis408
193Würzburg, Kreisfreie Stadt408
197Cuxhaven407
198Görlitz406
199Würzburg, Landkreis405
200Rotenburg (Wümme)402
201Ansbach, Landkreis400
202Landsberg am Lech396
203Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge391
203Vechta391
205Alzey-Worms386
205Koblenz, Kreisfreie Stadt386
207Fürth, Kreisfreie Stadt382
208Weilheim-Schongau381
209Havelland379
210Germersheim377
210Oder-Spree377
212Steinburg374
213Schaumburg373
214Dithmarschen372
215Ludwigslust-Parchim371
216Hameln-Pyrmont370
217Schwalm-Eder-Kreis368
218Rottweil366
219Nordsachsen364
220Ahrweiler363
220Verden363
222Ammerland362
223Grafschaft Bentheim359
223Pfaffenhofen a. d. Ilm359
225Vogtlandkreis358
226Herne, Kreisfreie Stadt357
226Ingolstadt, Kreisfreie Stadt357
228Heidekreis356
228Neunkirchen356
230Sigmaringen350
231Mühldorf a. Inn348
231Schwandorf348
233Garmisch-Partenkirchen347
234Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis345
235Plön342
236Bremerhaven, Kreisfreie Stadt340
237Waldeck-Frankenberg339
238Trier-Saarburg337
239Erlangen-Höchstadt336
240Olpe335
241Rottal-Inn330
242Günzburg329
243Altenkirchen (Westerwald)327
244Miltenberg326
245Oldenburg, Landkreis325
246Donau-Ries319
247Harz317
247Nordwestmecklenburg317
247Roth317
250Remscheid, Kreisfreie Stadt316

Showing the top 250 of 394. The Excel download has every row.

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 areas are compared on one definition. 6 areas with data in other periods have no value for 2021 and are left out rather than filled from another source. 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, enterprise births, 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, enterprise births, number (bd_size_r) (NUTS 3 areas of Germany by enterprise births, 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, enterprise births, number (bd_size_r), NUTS 3 areas of Germany by enterprise births, 2021. Eurostat, European Commission, 13 Mar. 2026, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/bd_size_r/default/table. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/enterprise-births/germany-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, enterprise births, number (bd_size_r). NUTS 3 areas of Germany by enterprise births, 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/enterprise-births/germany-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, enterprise births, number (bd_size_r), NUTS 3 areas of Germany by enterprise births, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/bd_size_r/default/table, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/enterprise-births/germany-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, enterprise births, number (bd\_size\_r): NUTS 3 areas of Germany by enterprise births, 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/enterprise-births/germany-provinces?period=2021. Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Business demography by size class and NUTS 3 region, industry, construction and market services, all size classes, enterprise births, 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, enterprise births, number (bd_size_r): NUTS 3 areas of Germany by enterprise births, 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/enterprise-births/germany-provinces?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/enterprise-births/germany-provinces?period=2021.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Business demography by size class and NUTS 3 region, industry, construction and market services, all size classes, enterprise births, number (bd_size_r). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/bd_size_r/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank NUTS 3 areas of Germany by enterprise births using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"enterprise_births","level":"province","within":"Germany","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=enterprise_births&level=province&within=Germany&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which area has the highest enterprise births?

Berlin, with 18,091 in 2021, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which area has the lowest enterprise births?

Zweibrücken, Kreisfreie Stadt, with 78 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, enterprise births, number (bd_size_r). Retrieved 2026-10-12. 6 areas have no value for 2021 and are not ranked.

Enterprise births: other rankings

NUTS 3 areas of Germany: more rankings