Data / Rankings / Enterprises in information and communication / EU countries

EU countries by enterprises in information and communication

France had the highest enterprises in information and communication of 27 EU countries in 2021, at 168,908. Malta had the lowest, at 2,284. The median was 24,594 and the figure for the European Union (27) was 1.28 million. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

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Highest168,908France
Lowest2,284Malta
Median24,59427 EU countries
European Union (27)1,281,415History

Map of EU countries, 2021

Austria: 29,437 countBelgium: 44,228 countBulgaria: 15,692 countCyprus: 2,893 countCzechia: 58,956 countGermany: 129,086 countDenmark: 19,441 countEstonia: 10,546 countSpain: 74,853 countFinland: 20,270 countFrance: 168,908 countGreece: 20,482 countCroatia: 13,108 countHungary: 58,194 countIreland: 18,533 countItaly: 112,702 countLithuania: 11,867 countLuxembourg: 3,206 countLatvia: 7,457 countMalta: 2,284 countNetherlands: 113,469 countPoland: 164,595 countPortugal: 24,594 countRomania: 51,094 countSweden: 65,120 countSlovenia: 11,056 countSlovakia: 29,344 count
  • Under 11K
  • 11K to 20K
  • 20K to 38K
  • 38K to 73K
  • 73K and over
count, 2021. Source: Eurostat, Structural business statistics, Information and communication (NACE Rev. 2 section J), enterprises, number (sbs_ovw_act). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All EU countries, 2021

France: 168,908 countFrance168,908Poland: 164,595 countPoland164,595Germany: 129,086 countGermany129,086Netherlands: 113,469 countNetherlands113,469Italy: 112,702 countItaly112,702Spain: 74,853 countSpain74,853Sweden: 65,120 countSweden65,120Czechia: 58,956 countCzechia58,956Hungary: 58,194 countHungary58,194Romania: 51,094 countRomania51,094Belgium: 44,228 countBelgium44,228Austria: 29,437 countAustria29,437Slovakia: 29,344 countSlovakia29,344Portugal: 24,594 countPortugal24,594Greece: 20,482 countGreece20,482Finland: 20,270 countFinland20,270Denmark: 19,441 countDenmark19,441Ireland: 18,533 countIreland18,533Bulgaria: 15,692 countBulgaria15,692Croatia: 13,108 countCroatia13,108Lithuania: 11,867 countLithuania11,867Slovenia: 11,056 countSlovenia11,056Estonia: 10,546 countEstonia10,546Latvia: 7,457 countLatvia7,457Luxembourg: 3,206 countLuxembourg3,206Cyprus: 2,893 countCyprus2,893Malta: 2,284 countMalta2,284France: 168,908 countFrance168,908Poland: 164,595 countPoland164,595Germany: 129,086 countGermany129,086Netherlands: 113,469 countNetherlands113,469Italy: 112,702 countItaly112,702Spain: 74,853 countSpain74,853Sweden: 65,120 countSweden65,120Czechia: 58,956 countCzechia58,956Hungary: 58,194 countHungary58,194Romania: 51,094 countRomania51,094Belgium: 44,228 countBelgium44,228Austria: 29,437 countAustria29,437Slovakia: 29,344 countSlovakia29,344Portugal: 24,594 countPortugal24,594Greece: 20,482 countGreece20,482Finland: 20,270 countFinland20,270Denmark: 19,441 countDenmark19,441Ireland: 18,533 countIreland18,533Bulgaria: 15,692 countBulgaria15,692Croatia: 13,108 countCroatia13,108Lithuania: 11,867 countLithuania11,867Slovenia: 11,056 countSlovenia11,056Estonia: 10,546 countEstonia10,546Latvia: 7,457 countLatvia7,457Luxembourg: 3,206 countLuxembourg3,206Cyprus: 2,893 countCyprus2,893Malta: 2,284 countMalta2,284
count. Source: Eurostat, Structural business statistics, Information and communication (NACE Rev. 2 section J), enterprises, number (sbs_ovw_act). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankEU countries2021
count		Change on 2020
1France Series break168,908+9.9%
2Poland Series break164,595+16.2%
3Germany Series break129,086+7.2%
4Netherlands Series break113,469+1.7%
5Italy Series break112,702+4.5%
6Spain Series break74,853+3.2%
7Sweden Series break65,120+4.2%
8Czechia Series break58,956+5.7%
9Hungary Series break58,194+12.3%
10Romania Series break51,094+75.1%
11Belgium Series break44,228+12%
12Austria Series break29,437+35.3%
13Slovakia Series break29,344+5.6%
14Portugal Series break24,594+15.4%
15Greece Series break20,482+15.3%
16Finland Series break20,270+71.9%
17Denmark Series break19,441+2.3%
18Ireland Series break18,533+8.5%
19Bulgaria Series break15,692+2.3%
20Croatia Series break13,108+11.9%
21Lithuania Series break11,867+13.2%
22Slovenia Series break11,056+5.5%
23Estonia Series break10,546+41.6%
24Latvia Series break7,457-3.7%
25Luxembourg Series break3,206+12.4%
26Cyprus Series break2,893+16.2%
27Malta Series break2,284+39.4%

Other periods

About this ranking

Number of enterprises active at any time during the year in information and communication (NACE Rev.

More on how it is measured
  • 2 section J), 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, Information and communication (NACE Rev. 2 section J), enterprises, number (sbs_ovw_act). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_ovw_act/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). Structural business statistics, Information and communication (NACE Rev. 2 section J), enterprises, number (sbs_ovw_act) (EU countries by enterprises in information and communication, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_ovw_act/default/table

MLA 9

Structural business statistics, Information and communication (NACE Rev. 2 section J), enterprises, number (sbs_ovw_act), EU countries by enterprises in information and communication, 2021. Eurostat, European Commission, 30 Sept. 2026, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_ovw_act/default/table. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/enterprises-information-communication/eu-countries?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Eurostat, European Commission. 2026. Structural business statistics, Information and communication (NACE Rev. 2 section J), enterprises, number (sbs_ovw_act). EU countries by enterprises in information and communication, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_ovw_act/default/table. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/enterprises-information-communication/eu-countries?period=2021.

Harvard

Eurostat, European Commission (2026) Structural business statistics, Information and communication (NACE Rev. 2 section J), enterprises, number (sbs_ovw_act), EU countries by enterprises in information and communication, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_ovw_act/default/table, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/enterprises-information-communication/eu-countries?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_enterprises_2021,
  author = {{Eurostat, European Commission}},
  title = {{Structural business statistics, Information and communication (NACE Rev. 2 section J), enterprises, number (sbs\_ovw\_act): EU countries by enterprises in information and communication, 2021}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_ovw_act/default/table},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/enterprises-information-communication/eu-countries?period=2021. Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Structural business statistics, Information and communication (NACE Rev. 2 section J), enterprises, number (sbs\_ovw\_act). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs\_ovw\_act/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - Eurostat, European Commission
TI  - Structural business statistics, Information and communication (NACE Rev. 2 section J), enterprises, number (sbs_ovw_act): EU countries by enterprises in information and communication, 2021
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/30
PB  - Eurostat, European Commission
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_ovw_act/default/table
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/enterprises-information-communication/eu-countries?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/enterprises-information-communication/eu-countries?period=2021.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Structural business statistics, Information and communication (NACE Rev. 2 section J), enterprises, number (sbs_ovw_act). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_ovw_act/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which EU country has the highest enterprises in information and communication?

France, with 168,908 in 2021, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest enterprises in information and communication?

Malta, with 2,284 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, Structural business statistics, Information and communication (NACE Rev. 2 section J), enterprises, number (sbs_ovw_act). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

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