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 2021, at 359,238. Luxembourg had the lowest, at 808. The median was 37,824 and the figure for the European Union (27) was 2.12 million. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

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Highest359,238Italy
Lowest808Luxembourg
Median37,82427 EU countries
European Union (27)2,119,953History

Map of EU countries, 2021

Austria: 30,851 countBelgium: 37,824 countBulgaria: 29,637 countCyprus: 5,038 countCzechia: 181,618 countGermany: 206,391 countDenmark: 15,556 countEstonia: 9,060 countSpain: 173,843 countFinland: 28,242 countFrance: 229,757 countGreece: 56,604 countCroatia: 23,152 countHungary: 59,383 countIreland: 18,206 countItaly: 359,238 countLithuania: 23,316 countLuxembourg: 808 countLatvia: 10,915 countMalta: 2,712 countNetherlands: 78,662 countPoland: 244,319 countPortugal: 67,298 countRomania: 76,790 countSweden: 47,722 countSlovenia: 20,399 countSlovakia: 82,612 count
  • Under 16K
  • 16K to 29K
  • 29K to 58K
  • 58K to 160K
  • 160K and over
count, 2021. Source: Eurostat, Structural business statistics, Manufacturing (NACE Rev. 2 section C), enterprises, number (sbs_ovw_act). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All EU countries, 2021

Italy: 359,238 countItaly359,238Poland: 244,319 countPoland244,319France: 229,757 countFrance229,757Germany: 206,391 countGermany206,391Czechia: 181,618 countCzechia181,618Spain: 173,843 countSpain173,843Slovakia: 82,612 countSlovakia82,612Netherlands: 78,662 countNetherlands78,662Romania: 76,790 countRomania76,790Portugal: 67,298 countPortugal67,298Hungary: 59,383 countHungary59,383Greece: 56,604 countGreece56,604Sweden: 47,722 countSweden47,722Belgium: 37,824 countBelgium37,824Austria: 30,851 countAustria30,851Bulgaria: 29,637 countBulgaria29,637Finland: 28,242 countFinland28,242Lithuania: 23,316 countLithuania23,316Croatia: 23,152 countCroatia23,152Slovenia: 20,399 countSlovenia20,399Ireland: 18,206 countIreland18,206Denmark: 15,556 countDenmark15,556Latvia: 10,915 countLatvia10,915Estonia: 9,060 countEstonia9,060Cyprus: 5,038 countCyprus5,038Malta: 2,712 countMalta2,712Luxembourg: 808 countLuxembourg808Italy: 359,238 countItaly359,238Poland: 244,319 countPoland244,319France: 229,757 countFrance229,757Germany: 206,391 countGermany206,391Czechia: 181,618 countCzechia181,618Spain: 173,843 countSpain173,843Slovakia: 82,612 countSlovakia82,612Netherlands: 78,662 countNetherlands78,662Romania: 76,790 countRomania76,790Portugal: 67,298 countPortugal67,298Hungary: 59,383 countHungary59,383Greece: 56,604 countGreece56,604Sweden: 47,722 countSweden47,722Belgium: 37,824 countBelgium37,824Austria: 30,851 countAustria30,851Bulgaria: 29,637 countBulgaria29,637Finland: 28,242 countFinland28,242Lithuania: 23,316 countLithuania23,316Croatia: 23,152 countCroatia23,152Slovenia: 20,399 countSlovenia20,399Ireland: 18,206 countIreland18,206Denmark: 15,556 countDenmark15,556Latvia: 10,915 countLatvia10,915Estonia: 9,060 countEstonia9,060Cyprus: 5,038 countCyprus5,038Malta: 2,712 countMalta2,712Luxembourg: 808 countLuxembourg808
count. Source: Eurostat, Structural business statistics, Manufacturing (NACE Rev. 2 section C), enterprises, number (sbs_ovw_act). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankEU countries2021
count		Change on 2020
1Italy Series break359,238-0.5%
2Poland Series break244,319+2.2%
3France Series break229,757+5.7%
4Germany Series break206,391-6.4%
5Czechia Series break181,618+1.4%
6Spain Series break173,843+2.9%
7Slovakia Series break82,612+2.2%
8Netherlands Series break78,662+3%
9Romania Series break76,790+35.9%
10Portugal Series break67,298+1.2%
11Hungary Series break59,383+8.1%
12Greece Series break56,604+1%
13Sweden Series break47,722+1.3%
14Belgium Series break37,824-4.6%
15Austria Series break30,851+19.9%
16Bulgaria Series break29,637-0.8%
17Finland Series break28,242+42%
18Lithuania Series break23,316+8.1%
19Croatia Series break23,152+4.5%
20Slovenia Series break20,399+1.5%
21Ireland Series break18,206+7.8%
22Denmark Series break15,556+0.4%
23Latvia Series break10,915-0.8%
24Estonia Series break9,060+13.5%
25Cyprus Series break5,038+0.4%
26Malta Series break2,712+24.1%
27Luxembourg Series break808+6.3%

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, Manufacturing (NACE Rev. 2 section C), 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, Manufacturing (NACE Rev. 2 section C), enterprises, number (sbs_ovw_act) (EU countries by enterprises in manufacturing, 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, Manufacturing (NACE Rev. 2 section C), enterprises, number (sbs_ovw_act), EU countries by enterprises in manufacturing, 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-manufacturing/eu-countries?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Eurostat, European Commission. 2026. Structural business statistics, Manufacturing (NACE Rev. 2 section C), enterprises, number (sbs_ovw_act). EU countries by enterprises in manufacturing, 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-manufacturing/eu-countries?period=2021.

Harvard

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

BibTeX
@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_enterprises_2021,
  author = {{Eurostat, European Commission}},
  title = {{Structural business statistics, Manufacturing (NACE Rev. 2 section C), enterprises, number (sbs\_ovw\_act): EU countries by enterprises in manufacturing, 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-manufacturing/eu-countries?period=2021. Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Structural business statistics, Manufacturing (NACE Rev. 2 section C), 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, Manufacturing (NACE Rev. 2 section C), enterprises, number (sbs_ovw_act): EU countries by enterprises in manufacturing, 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-manufacturing/eu-countries?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/enterprises-manufacturing/eu-countries?period=2021.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Structural business statistics, Manufacturing (NACE Rev. 2 section C), 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 manufacturing?

Italy, with 359,238 in 2021, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest enterprises in manufacturing?

Luxembourg, with 808 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, Manufacturing (NACE Rev. 2 section C), enterprises, number (sbs_ovw_act). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

EU countries: more rankings