Data / Rankings / Enterprises in manufacturing / EU countries

EU countries by enterprises in manufacturing

Italy had the highest enterprises in manufacturing of 27 EU countries in 2016, at 387,866. Luxembourg had the lowest, at 767. The median was 34,132 and the figure for the European Union (27) was 1.99 million. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

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Highest387,866Italy
Lowest767Luxembourg
Median34,13227 EU countries
European Union (27)1,985,196History

Map of EU countries, 2016

Austria: 25,037 countBelgium: 34,132 countBulgaria: 31,323 countCyprus: 4,966 countCzechia: 175,425 countGermany: 201,826 countDenmark: 15,244 countEstonia: 7,259 countSpain: 166,984 countFinland: 20,264 countFrance: 216,049 countGreece: 61,883 countCroatia: 19,475 countHungary: 49,951 countIreland: 15,583 countItaly: 387,866 countLithuania: 19,969 countLuxembourg: 767 countLatvia: 11,090 countMalta: 2,233 countNetherlands: 65,243 countPoland: 196,067 countPortugal: 66,953 countRomania: 48,349 countSweden: 53,795 countSlovenia: 19,074 countSlovakia: 68,413 count
  • Under 15K
  • 15K to 22K
  • 22K to 52K
  • 52K to 150K
  • 150K and over
count, 2016. Source: Eurostat, Structural business statistics (2005 to 2020), Manufacturing (NACE Rev. 2 section C), enterprises, number (sbs_na_sca_r2). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All EU countries, 2016

Italy: 387,866 countItaly387,866France: 216,049 countFrance216,049Germany: 201,826 countGermany201,826Poland: 196,067 countPoland196,067Czechia: 175,425 countCzechia175,425Spain: 166,984 countSpain166,984Slovakia: 68,413 countSlovakia68,413Portugal: 66,953 countPortugal66,953Netherlands: 65,243 countNetherlands65,243Greece: 61,883 countGreece61,883Sweden: 53,795 countSweden53,795Hungary: 49,951 countHungary49,951Romania: 48,349 countRomania48,349Belgium: 34,132 countBelgium34,132Bulgaria: 31,323 countBulgaria31,323Austria: 25,037 countAustria25,037Finland: 20,264 countFinland20,264Lithuania: 19,969 countLithuania19,969Croatia: 19,475 countCroatia19,475Slovenia: 19,074 countSlovenia19,074Ireland: 15,583 countIreland15,583Denmark: 15,244 countDenmark15,244Latvia: 11,090 countLatvia11,090Estonia: 7,259 countEstonia7,259Cyprus: 4,966 countCyprus4,966Malta: 2,233 countMalta2,233Luxembourg: 767 countLuxembourg767Italy: 387,866 countItaly387,866France: 216,049 countFrance216,049Germany: 201,826 countGermany201,826Poland: 196,067 countPoland196,067Czechia: 175,425 countCzechia175,425Spain: 166,984 countSpain166,984Slovakia: 68,413 countSlovakia68,413Portugal: 66,953 countPortugal66,953Netherlands: 65,243 countNetherlands65,243Greece: 61,883 countGreece61,883Sweden: 53,795 countSweden53,795Hungary: 49,951 countHungary49,951Romania: 48,349 countRomania48,349Belgium: 34,132 countBelgium34,132Bulgaria: 31,323 countBulgaria31,323Austria: 25,037 countAustria25,037Finland: 20,264 countFinland20,264Lithuania: 19,969 countLithuania19,969Croatia: 19,475 countCroatia19,475Slovenia: 19,074 countSlovenia19,074Ireland: 15,583 countIreland15,583Denmark: 15,244 countDenmark15,244Latvia: 11,090 countLatvia11,090Estonia: 7,259 countEstonia7,259Cyprus: 4,966 countCyprus4,966Malta: 2,233 countMalta2,233Luxembourg: 767 countLuxembourg767
count. Source: Eurostat, Structural business statistics (2005 to 2020), Manufacturing (NACE Rev. 2 section C), enterprises, number (sbs_na_sca_r2). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankEU countries2016
count		Change on 2015
1Italy387,866-0.4%
2France216,049+1.3%
3Germany201,826-1.6%
4Poland196,067+4.6%
5Czechia175,425+2%
6Spain166,9840%
7Slovakia68,413+6.9%
8Portugal66,953+0.3%
9Netherlands65,243+3%
10Greece61,883+0.1%
11Sweden53,795+0.2%
12Hungary49,951+1.3%
13Romania48,349-0.1%
14Belgium34,132+1%
15Bulgaria31,323+1.4%
16Austria25,037-1.1%
17Finland20,264-2.4%
18Lithuania19,969+2.9%
19Croatia19,475-1.2%
20Slovenia19,074+1.2%
21Ireland15,583+2.2%
22Denmark15,244+2.8%
23Latvia11,090+5.4%
24Estonia7,259+2.9%
25Cyprus4,966-1.1%
26Malta2,233+7.6%
27Luxembourg767-2.4%

Other periods

About this ranking

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

More on how it is measured
  • 2 section C), 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), Manufacturing (NACE Rev. 2 section C), 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), Manufacturing (NACE Rev. 2 section C), enterprises, number (sbs_na_sca_r2) (EU countries by enterprises in manufacturing, 2016) [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), Manufacturing (NACE Rev. 2 section C), enterprises, number (sbs_na_sca_r2), EU countries by enterprises in manufacturing, 2016. 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-manufacturing/eu-countries?period=2016. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Eurostat, European Commission. 2024. Structural business statistics (2005 to 2020), Manufacturing (NACE Rev. 2 section C), enterprises, number (sbs_na_sca_r2). EU countries by enterprises in manufacturing, 2016. 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-manufacturing/eu-countries?period=2016.

Harvard

Eurostat, European Commission (2024) Structural business statistics (2005 to 2020), Manufacturing (NACE Rev. 2 section C), enterprises, number (sbs_na_sca_r2), EU countries by enterprises in manufacturing, 2016 [Dataset]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_na_sca_r2/default/table, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/enterprises-manufacturing/eu-countries?period=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_enterprises_2016,
  author = {{Eurostat, European Commission}},
  title = {{Structural business statistics (2005 to 2020), Manufacturing (NACE Rev. 2 section C), enterprises, number (sbs\_na\_sca\_r2): EU countries by enterprises in manufacturing, 2016}},
  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-manufacturing/eu-countries?period=2016. Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Structural business statistics (2005 to 2020), Manufacturing (NACE Rev. 2 section C), 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), Manufacturing (NACE Rev. 2 section C), enterprises, number (sbs_na_sca_r2): EU countries by enterprises in manufacturing, 2016
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-manufacturing/eu-countries?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/enterprises-manufacturing/eu-countries?period=2016.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Structural business statistics (2005 to 2020), Manufacturing (NACE Rev. 2 section C), 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 manufacturing?

Italy, with 387,866 in 2016, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest enterprises in manufacturing?

Luxembourg, with 767 in 2016.

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), Manufacturing (NACE Rev. 2 section C), enterprises, number (sbs_na_sca_r2). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

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