Data / Rankings / Enterprise death rate / EU countries

EU countries by enterprise death rate

Lithuania had the highest enterprise death rate of 27 EU countries in 2023, at 12.6%. Greece had the lowest, at 3.24%. The median was 7.8% and the figure for the European Union (27) was 8.07%. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

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Highest12.6Lithuania
Lowest3.24Greece
Median7.827 EU countries
European Union (27)8.07History

Map of EU countries, 2023

Austria: 5.78 %Belgium: 4.61 %Bulgaria: 7.95 %Cyprus: 5.68 %Czechia: 7.79 %Germany: 7.91 %Denmark: 8.37 %Estonia: 11.22 %Spain: 7.8 %Finland: 6.89 %France: 10.38 %Greece: 3.24 %Croatia: 6.79 %Hungary: 9.25 %Ireland: 10.84 %Italy: 6.47 %Lithuania: 12.6 %Luxembourg: 7.78 %Latvia: 9.42 %Malta: 11.23 %Netherlands: 4.83 %Poland: 10.24 %Portugal: 12.58 %Romania: 6.38 %Sweden: 5.94 %Slovenia: 7.6 %Slovakia: 9.68 %
  • Under 6
  • 6 to 7.7
  • 7.7 to 8.2
  • 8.2 to 10
  • 10 and over
%, 2023. Source: Eurostat, Business demography by size class and NACE Rev. 2 activity, industry, construction and market services, all size classes, death rate, percentage of active enterprises (bd_size). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All EU countries, 2023

Lithuania: 12.6 %Lithuania12.6Portugal: 12.58 %Portugal12.58Malta: 11.23 %Malta11.23Estonia: 11.22 %Estonia11.22Ireland: 10.84 %Ireland10.84France: 10.38 %France10.38Poland: 10.24 %Poland10.24Slovakia: 9.68 %Slovakia9.68Latvia: 9.42 %Latvia9.42Hungary: 9.25 %Hungary9.25Denmark: 8.37 %Denmark8.37Bulgaria: 7.95 %Bulgaria7.95Germany: 7.91 %Germany7.91Spain: 7.8 %Spain7.8Czechia: 7.79 %Czechia7.79Luxembourg: 7.78 %Luxembourg7.78Slovenia: 7.6 %Slovenia7.6Finland: 6.89 %Finland6.89Croatia: 6.79 %Croatia6.79Italy: 6.47 %Italy6.47Romania: 6.38 %Romania6.38Sweden: 5.94 %Sweden5.94Austria: 5.78 %Austria5.78Cyprus: 5.68 %Cyprus5.68Netherlands: 4.83 %Netherlands4.83Belgium: 4.61 %Belgium4.61Greece: 3.24 %Greece3.24Lithuania: 12.6 %Lithuania12.6Portugal: 12.58 %Portugal12.58Malta: 11.23 %Malta11.23Estonia: 11.22 %Estonia11.22Ireland: 10.84 %Ireland10.84France: 10.38 %France10.38Poland: 10.24 %Poland10.24Slovakia: 9.68 %Slovakia9.68Latvia: 9.42 %Latvia9.42Hungary: 9.25 %Hungary9.25Denmark: 8.37 %Denmark8.37Bulgaria: 7.95 %Bulgaria7.95Germany: 7.91 %Germany7.91Spain: 7.8 %Spain7.8Czechia: 7.79 %Czechia7.79Luxembourg: 7.78 %Luxembourg7.78Slovenia: 7.6 %Slovenia7.6Finland: 6.89 %Finland6.89Croatia: 6.79 %Croatia6.79Italy: 6.47 %Italy6.47Romania: 6.38 %Romania6.38Sweden: 5.94 %Sweden5.94Austria: 5.78 %Austria5.78Cyprus: 5.68 %Cyprus5.68Netherlands: 4.83 %Netherlands4.83Belgium: 4.61 %Belgium4.61Greece: 3.24 %Greece3.24
%. Source: Eurostat, Business demography by size class and NACE Rev. 2 activity, industry, construction and market services, all size classes, death rate, percentage of active enterprises (bd_size). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankEU countries2023 (%)Change on 2022
1Lithuania Provisional12.6-0.62 pts
2Portugal Provisional12.58+0.84 pts
3Malta11.23+0.86 pts
4Estonia11.22+2.31 pts
5Ireland Provisional10.84+2.19 pts
6France10.38+0.3 pts
7Poland10.24-0.71 pts
8Slovakia Provisional9.68+2.04 pts
9Latvia9.42-0.37 pts
10Hungary Provisional9.25-6.26 pts
11Denmark8.37-0.74 pts
12Bulgaria Provisional7.95-0.38 pts
13Germany Series break7.91+0.58 pts
14Spain7.8-0.8 pts
15Czechia Provisional7.79+1.09 pts
16Luxembourg Series break7.78+1.49 pts
17Slovenia7.60 pts
18Finland6.89+0.53 pts
19Croatia6.79-0.38 pts
20Italy Provisional6.47+0.91 pts
21Romania6.38+0.31 pts
22Sweden5.94-0.14 pts
23Austria5.78+0.26 pts
24Cyprus5.68+0.51 pts
25Netherlands4.83-1.42 pts
26Belgium4.61+0.51 pts
27Greece3.24+0.31 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Enterprise deaths in the year as a percentage of the enterprises active in the same year. A death is an enterprise that stopped trading and was not reactivated within two years.

Eurostat and OECD harmonised business demography. The latest year is provisional until the two-year reactivation window has passed. Not an insolvency rate, and not comparable with establishment_exit_rate, which counts closed US business locations.

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, death 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, death rate, percentage of active enterprises (bd_size) (EU countries by enterprise death 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, death rate, percentage of active enterprises (bd_size), EU countries by enterprise death 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-death-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, death rate, percentage of active enterprises (bd_size). EU countries by enterprise death 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-death-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, death rate, percentage of active enterprises (bd_size), EU countries by enterprise death rate, 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/bd_size/default/table, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/enterprise-death-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, death rate, percentage of active enterprises (bd\_size): EU countries by enterprise death 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-death-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, death 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, death rate, percentage of active enterprises (bd_size): EU countries by enterprise death 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-death-rate/eu-countries?period=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/enterprise-death-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, death 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 death rate?

Lithuania, with 12.6% in 2023, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest enterprise death rate?

Greece, with 3.24% 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, death rate, percentage of active enterprises (bd_size). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Enterprise death rate: other rankings

EU countries: more rankings