EU countries by enterprises in professional, scientific and technical activities
Italy had the highest enterprises in professional, scientific and technical activities of 27 EU countries in 2016, at 734,520. Malta had the lowest, at 4,247. The median was 66,079 and the figure for the European Union (27) was 4.11 million. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.
Map of EU countries, 2016
- Under 25K
- 25K to 42K
- 42K to 120K
- 120K to 250K
- 250K and over
All EU countries, 2016
Full ranking
| Rank | EU countries | 2016 | Change on 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italy | 734,520 | +2.7% |
| 2 | Germany | 485,448 | +1.4% |
| 3 | France | 481,900 | +4% |
| 4 | Spain | 394,359 | +13.1% |
| 5 | Netherlands | 345,527 | +5.2% |
| 6 | Poland | 268,255 | +9.9% |
| 7 | Czechia | 183,979 | +2.9% |
| 8 | Sweden | 180,842 | +2.4% |
| 9 | Greece | 152,320 | -0.3% |
| 10 | Belgium | 150,094 | +5.2% |
| 11 | Hungary | 124,004 | +4% |
| 12 | Portugal | 120,198 | +3% |
| 13 | Slovakia | 70,452 | +3.3% |
| 14 | Austria | 66,079 | +1% |
| 15 | Romania | 60,324 | +4.3% |
| 16 | Bulgaria | 43,082 | +5.5% |
| 17 | Ireland | 40,452 | +0.7% |
| 18 | Finland | 35,840 | +0.4% |
| 19 | Denmark | 35,104 | +6.2% |
| 20 | Slovenia | 32,527 | +5.8% |
| 21 | Lithuania | 29,096 | +4.6% |
| 22 | Croatia | 24,170 | +2.5% |
| 23 | Latvia | 20,107 | +3.9% |
| 24 | Estonia | 12,564 | +2.4% |
| 25 | Luxembourg | 8,260 | +2.1% |
| 26 | Cyprus | 7,053 | +11.2% |
| 27 | Malta | 4,247 | +21.1% |
Other periods
About this ranking
Number of enterprises active at any time during the year in professional, scientific and technical activities (NACE Rev.
More on how it is measured
- 2 section M), 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), Professional, scientific and technical activities (NACE Rev. 2 section M), 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
APA 7
Eurostat, European Commission. (2024). Structural business statistics (2005 to 2020), Professional, scientific and technical activities (NACE Rev. 2 section M), enterprises, number (sbs_na_sca_r2) (EU countries by enterprises in professional, scientific and technical activities, 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), Professional, scientific and technical activities (NACE Rev. 2 section M), enterprises, number (sbs_na_sca_r2), EU countries by enterprises in professional, scientific and technical activities, 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-professional-scientific/eu-countries?period=2016. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.
Chicago (author-date)
Eurostat, European Commission. 2024. Structural business statistics (2005 to 2020), Professional, scientific and technical activities (NACE Rev. 2 section M), enterprises, number (sbs_na_sca_r2). EU countries by enterprises in professional, scientific and technical activities, 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-professional-scientific/eu-countries?period=2016.
Harvard
Eurostat, European Commission (2024) Structural business statistics (2005 to 2020), Professional, scientific and technical activities (NACE Rev. 2 section M), enterprises, number (sbs_na_sca_r2), EU countries by enterprises in professional, scientific and technical activities, 2016 [Dataset]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_na_sca_r2/default/table, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/enterprises-professional-scientific/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), Professional, scientific and technical activities (NACE Rev. 2 section M), enterprises, number (sbs\_na\_sca\_r2): EU countries by enterprises in professional, scientific and technical activities, 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-professional-scientific/eu-countries?period=2016. Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Structural business statistics (2005 to 2020), Professional, scientific and technical activities (NACE Rev. 2 section M), 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), Professional, scientific and technical activities (NACE Rev. 2 section M), enterprises, number (sbs_na_sca_r2): EU countries by enterprises in professional, scientific and technical activities, 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-professional-scientific/eu-countries?period=2016
Y2 - 2026/10/12
N1 - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/enterprises-professional-scientific/eu-countries?period=2016.
N1 - Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Structural business statistics (2005 to 2020), Professional, scientific and technical activities (NACE Rev. 2 section M), 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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Rank EU countries by enterprises in professional, scientific and technical activities using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"sbs_enterprises_professional_scientific","level":"country","within":"European Union (27)","limit":10}
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Which EU country has the highest enterprises in professional, scientific and technical activities?
Italy, with 734,520 in 2016, according to Eurostat, European Commission.
Which EU country has the lowest enterprises in professional, scientific and technical activities?
Malta, with 4,247 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), Professional, scientific and technical activities (NACE Rev. 2 section M), enterprises, number (sbs_na_sca_r2). Retrieved 2026-10-12.