Data / Rankings / Enterprises in construction / EU countries

EU countries by enterprises in construction

Italy had the highest enterprises in construction of 27 EU countries in 2018, at 493,674. Luxembourg had the lowest, at 4,077. The median was 57,626 and the figure for the European Union (27) was 3.28 million. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

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Highest493,674Italy
Lowest4,077Luxembourg
Median57,62627 EU countries
European Union (27)3,283,211History

Map of EU countries, 2018

Austria: 35,872 countBelgium: 105,253 countBulgaria: 20,312 countCyprus: 8,461 countCzechia: 181,647 countGermany: 357,187 countDenmark: 33,306 countEstonia: 11,587 countSpain: 380,029 countFinland: 40,809 countFrance: 472,425 countGreece: 59,782 countCroatia: 18,826 countHungary: 79,218 countIreland: 57,626 countItaly: 493,674 countLithuania: 32,535 countLuxembourg: 4,077 countLatvia: 11,635 countMalta: 4,192 countNetherlands: 187,654 countPoland: 325,663 countPortugal: 85,311 countRomania: 55,948 countSweden: 99,155 countSlovenia: 19,039 countSlovakia: 101,797 count
  • Under 19K
  • 19K to 38K
  • 38K to 83K
  • 83K to 190K
  • 190K and over
count, 2018. Source: Eurostat, Structural business statistics (2005 to 2020), Construction (NACE Rev. 2 section F), enterprises, number (sbs_na_sca_r2). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All EU countries, 2018

Italy: 493,674 countItaly493,674France: 472,425 countFrance472,425Spain: 380,029 countSpain380,029Germany: 357,187 countGermany357,187Poland: 325,663 countPoland325,663Netherlands: 187,654 countNetherlands187,654Czechia: 181,647 countCzechia181,647Belgium: 105,253 countBelgium105,253Slovakia: 101,797 countSlovakia101,797Sweden: 99,155 countSweden99,155Portugal: 85,311 countPortugal85,311Hungary: 79,218 countHungary79,218Greece: 59,782 countGreece59,782Ireland: 57,626 countIreland57,626Romania: 55,948 countRomania55,948Finland: 40,809 countFinland40,809Austria: 35,872 countAustria35,872Denmark: 33,306 countDenmark33,306Lithuania: 32,535 countLithuania32,535Bulgaria: 20,312 countBulgaria20,312Slovenia: 19,039 countSlovenia19,039Croatia: 18,826 countCroatia18,826Latvia: 11,635 countLatvia11,635Estonia: 11,587 countEstonia11,587Cyprus: 8,461 countCyprus8,461Malta: 4,192 countMalta4,192Luxembourg: 4,077 countLuxembourg4,077Italy: 493,674 countItaly493,674France: 472,425 countFrance472,425Spain: 380,029 countSpain380,029Germany: 357,187 countGermany357,187Poland: 325,663 countPoland325,663Netherlands: 187,654 countNetherlands187,654Czechia: 181,647 countCzechia181,647Belgium: 105,253 countBelgium105,253Slovakia: 101,797 countSlovakia101,797Sweden: 99,155 countSweden99,155Portugal: 85,311 countPortugal85,311Hungary: 79,218 countHungary79,218Greece: 59,782 countGreece59,782Ireland: 57,626 countIreland57,626Romania: 55,948 countRomania55,948Finland: 40,809 countFinland40,809Austria: 35,872 countAustria35,872Denmark: 33,306 countDenmark33,306Lithuania: 32,535 countLithuania32,535Bulgaria: 20,312 countBulgaria20,312Slovenia: 19,039 countSlovenia19,039Croatia: 18,826 countCroatia18,826Latvia: 11,635 countLatvia11,635Estonia: 11,587 countEstonia11,587Cyprus: 8,461 countCyprus8,461Malta: 4,192 countMalta4,192Luxembourg: 4,077 countLuxembourg4,077
count. Source: Eurostat, Structural business statistics (2005 to 2020), Construction (NACE Rev. 2 section F), enterprises, number (sbs_na_sca_r2). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankEU countries2018
count		Change on 2017
1Italy493,674-1.8%
2France472,425+0.7%
3Spain Series break380,029+1%
4Germany Series break357,187+5.5%
5Poland Series break325,663+15.5%
6Netherlands187,654+8%
7Czechia181,647+2.4%
8Belgium Series break105,253-8.2%
9Slovakia101,797+7%
10Sweden Series break99,155-4.7%
11Portugal85,311+4.5%
12Hungary Series break79,218+13.7%
13Greece Series break59,782-3.3%
14Ireland57,626+0.6%
15Romania Series break55,948+6%
16Finland40,809-0.7%
17Austria Series break35,872-0.8%
18Denmark33,306+2%
19Lithuania Series break32,535+2.6%
20Bulgaria Series break20,312+2.1%
21Slovenia19,039+2%
22Croatia18,826+4.6%
23Latvia11,635+0.4%
24Estonia Series break11,587+6%
25Cyprus8,461+7.3%
26Malta4,192+1.6%
27Luxembourg4,077+3.7%

Other periods

About this ranking

Number of enterprises active at any time during the year in construction (NACE Rev.

More on how it is measured
  • 2 section F), from Eurostat structural business statistics.
  • An enterprise is the smallest combination of legal units that produces goods or services with some autonomy in its decisions; one enterprise can have several local units.

Eurostat structural business statistics. From 2021 the series come from sbs_ovw_act under Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 on European business statistics; 2005 to 2020 come from the earlier table sbs_na_sca_r2. Values for 2021 are flagged as a break: value added moved from factor cost to basic prices and some activities changed coverage, so the change from 2020 to 2021 is not all real. Amounts are published in euros for every country, including those outside the euro area. Not the same as active_companies (INE business register, Spain) or employer_firms (US Census Bureau).

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. Structural business statistics (2005 to 2020), Construction (NACE Rev. 2 section F), enterprises, number (sbs_na_sca_r2). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_na_sca_r2/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. (2024). Structural business statistics (2005 to 2020), Construction (NACE Rev. 2 section F), enterprises, number (sbs_na_sca_r2) (EU countries by enterprises in construction, 2018) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_na_sca_r2/default/table

MLA 9

Structural business statistics (2005 to 2020), Construction (NACE Rev. 2 section F), enterprises, number (sbs_na_sca_r2), EU countries by enterprises in construction, 2018. Eurostat, European Commission, 1 Mar. 2024, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_na_sca_r2/default/table. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/enterprises-construction/eu-countries?period=2018. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Eurostat, European Commission. 2024. Structural business statistics (2005 to 2020), Construction (NACE Rev. 2 section F), enterprises, number (sbs_na_sca_r2). EU countries by enterprises in construction, 2018. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_na_sca_r2/default/table. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/enterprises-construction/eu-countries?period=2018.

Harvard

Eurostat, European Commission (2024) Structural business statistics (2005 to 2020), Construction (NACE Rev. 2 section F), enterprises, number (sbs_na_sca_r2), EU countries by enterprises in construction, 2018 [Dataset]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_na_sca_r2/default/table, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/enterprises-construction/eu-countries?period=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_enterprises_2018,
  author = {{Eurostat, European Commission}},
  title = {{Structural business statistics (2005 to 2020), Construction (NACE Rev. 2 section F), enterprises, number (sbs\_na\_sca\_r2): EU countries by enterprises in construction, 2018}},
  year = {2024},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_na_sca_r2/default/table},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/enterprises-construction/eu-countries?period=2018. Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Structural business statistics (2005 to 2020), Construction (NACE Rev. 2 section F), enterprises, number (sbs\_na\_sca\_r2). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs\_na\_sca\_r2/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - Eurostat, European Commission
TI  - Structural business statistics (2005 to 2020), Construction (NACE Rev. 2 section F), enterprises, number (sbs_na_sca_r2): EU countries by enterprises in construction, 2018
PY  - 2024
DA  - 2024/03/01
PB  - Eurostat, European Commission
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_na_sca_r2/default/table
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/enterprises-construction/eu-countries?period=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/enterprises-construction/eu-countries?period=2018.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Structural business statistics (2005 to 2020), Construction (NACE Rev. 2 section F), enterprises, number (sbs_na_sca_r2). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_na_sca_r2/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which EU country has the highest enterprises in construction?

Italy, with 493,674 in 2018, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest enterprises in construction?

Luxembourg, with 4,077 in 2018.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Eurostat, European Commission, Structural business statistics (2005 to 2020), Construction (NACE Rev. 2 section F), enterprises, number (sbs_na_sca_r2). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

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