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 2017, at 383,585. Luxembourg had the lowest, at 771. The median was 36,801 and the figure for the European Union (27) was 1.96 million. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

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Highest383,585Italy
Lowest771Luxembourg
Median36,80127 EU countries
European Union (27)1,964,946History

Map of EU countries, 2017

Austria: 25,477 countBelgium: 36,801 countBulgaria: 31,272 countCyprus: 5,024 countCzechia: 175,894 countGermany: 190,541 countDenmark: 15,343 countEstonia: 7,507 countSpain: 168,717 countFinland: 20,176 countFrance: 197,657 countGreece: 57,375 countCroatia: 19,539 countHungary: 50,809 countIreland: 16,701 countItaly: 383,585 countLithuania: 20,268 countLuxembourg: 771 countLatvia: 10,921 countMalta: 2,250 countNetherlands: 66,662 countPoland: 198,757 countPortugal: 67,555 countRomania: 49,837 countSweden: 53,674 countSlovenia: 19,376 countSlovakia: 72,563 count
  • Under 16K
  • 16K to 22K
  • 22K to 53K
  • 53K to 150K
  • 150K and over
count, 2017. 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, 2017

Italy: 383,585 countItaly383,585Poland: 198,757 countPoland198,757France: 197,657 countFrance197,657Germany: 190,541 countGermany190,541Czechia: 175,894 countCzechia175,894Spain: 168,717 countSpain168,717Slovakia: 72,563 countSlovakia72,563Portugal: 67,555 countPortugal67,555Netherlands: 66,662 countNetherlands66,662Greece: 57,375 countGreece57,375Sweden: 53,674 countSweden53,674Hungary: 50,809 countHungary50,809Romania: 49,837 countRomania49,837Belgium: 36,801 countBelgium36,801Bulgaria: 31,272 countBulgaria31,272Austria: 25,477 countAustria25,477Lithuania: 20,268 countLithuania20,268Finland: 20,176 countFinland20,176Croatia: 19,539 countCroatia19,539Slovenia: 19,376 countSlovenia19,376Ireland: 16,701 countIreland16,701Denmark: 15,343 countDenmark15,343Latvia: 10,921 countLatvia10,921Estonia: 7,507 countEstonia7,507Cyprus: 5,024 countCyprus5,024Malta: 2,250 countMalta2,250Luxembourg: 771 countLuxembourg771Italy: 383,585 countItaly383,585Poland: 198,757 countPoland198,757France: 197,657 countFrance197,657Germany: 190,541 countGermany190,541Czechia: 175,894 countCzechia175,894Spain: 168,717 countSpain168,717Slovakia: 72,563 countSlovakia72,563Portugal: 67,555 countPortugal67,555Netherlands: 66,662 countNetherlands66,662Greece: 57,375 countGreece57,375Sweden: 53,674 countSweden53,674Hungary: 50,809 countHungary50,809Romania: 49,837 countRomania49,837Belgium: 36,801 countBelgium36,801Bulgaria: 31,272 countBulgaria31,272Austria: 25,477 countAustria25,477Lithuania: 20,268 countLithuania20,268Finland: 20,176 countFinland20,176Croatia: 19,539 countCroatia19,539Slovenia: 19,376 countSlovenia19,376Ireland: 16,701 countIreland16,701Denmark: 15,343 countDenmark15,343Latvia: 10,921 countLatvia10,921Estonia: 7,507 countEstonia7,507Cyprus: 5,024 countCyprus5,024Malta: 2,250 countMalta2,250Luxembourg: 771 countLuxembourg771
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 countries2017
count		Change on 2016
1Italy Series break383,585-1.1%
2Poland198,757+1.4%
3France Series break197,657-8.5%
4Germany190,541-5.6%
5Czechia175,894+0.3%
6Spain168,717+1%
7Slovakia72,563+6.1%
8Portugal67,555+0.9%
9Netherlands66,662+2.2%
10Greece57,375-7.3%
11Sweden53,674-0.2%
12Hungary50,809+1.7%
13Romania49,837+3.1%
14Belgium36,801+7.8%
15Bulgaria31,272-0.2%
16Austria25,477+1.8%
17Lithuania20,268+1.5%
18Finland Series break20,176-0.4%
19Croatia19,539+0.3%
20Slovenia19,376+1.6%
21Ireland16,701+7.2%
22Denmark15,343+0.6%
23Latvia10,921-1.5%
24Estonia7,507+3.4%
25Cyprus5,024+1.2%
26Malta2,250+0.8%
27Luxembourg771+0.5%

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, 2017) [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, 2017. 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=2017. 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, 2017. 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=2017.

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, 2017 [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=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_enterprises_2017,
  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, 2017}},
  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=2017. 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, 2017
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=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/enterprises-manufacturing/eu-countries?period=2017.
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 383,585 in 2017, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest enterprises in manufacturing?

Luxembourg, with 771 in 2017.

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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