Data / Rankings / Enterprises in water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation / EU countries

EU countries by enterprises in water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation, 2024

France had the highest enterprises in water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation of 27 EU countries in 2024, at 12,891. Luxembourg had the lowest, at 68. The median was 1,728 and the figure for the European Union (27) was 81,482. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

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Highest12,891France
Lowest68Luxembourg
Median1,72827 EU countries
European Union (27)81,482History

Map of EU countries, 2024

Austria: 2,799 countBelgium: 1,478 countBulgaria: 766 countCyprus: 247 countCzechia: 7,071 countGermany: 9,769 countDenmark: 2,250 countEstonia: 319 countSpain: 7,053 countFinland: 2,410 countFrance: 12,891 countGreece: 2,080 countCroatia: 790 countHungary: 1,728 countIreland: 1,110 countItaly: 8,579 countLithuania: 352 countLuxembourg: 68 countLatvia: 293 countMalta: 165 countNetherlands: 2,288 countPoland: 8,186 countPortugal: 1,309 countRomania: 3,419 countSweden: 1,435 countSlovenia: 404 countSlovakia: 2,223 count
  • Under 400
  • 400 to 1,400
  • 1,400 to 2,200
  • 2,200 to 6,300
  • 6,300 and over
count, 2024. Source: Eurostat, Structural business statistics, Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation (NACE Rev. 2 section E), enterprises, number (sbs_ovw_act). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All EU countries, 2024

France: 12,891 countFrance12,891Germany: 9,769 countGermany9,769Italy: 8,579 countItaly8,579Poland: 8,186 countPoland8,186Czechia: 7,071 countCzechia7,071Spain: 7,053 countSpain7,053Romania: 3,419 countRomania3,419Austria: 2,799 countAustria2,799Finland: 2,410 countFinland2,410Netherlands: 2,288 countNetherlands2,288Denmark: 2,250 countDenmark2,250Slovakia: 2,223 countSlovakia2,223Greece: 2,080 countGreece2,080Hungary: 1,728 countHungary1,728Belgium: 1,478 countBelgium1,478Sweden: 1,435 countSweden1,435Portugal: 1,309 countPortugal1,309Ireland: 1,110 countIreland1,110Croatia: 790 countCroatia790Bulgaria: 766 countBulgaria766Slovenia: 404 countSlovenia404Lithuania: 352 countLithuania352Estonia: 319 countEstonia319Latvia: 293 countLatvia293Cyprus: 247 countCyprus247Malta: 165 countMalta165Luxembourg: 68 countLuxembourg68France: 12,891 countFrance12,891Germany: 9,769 countGermany9,769Italy: 8,579 countItaly8,579Poland: 8,186 countPoland8,186Czechia: 7,071 countCzechia7,071Spain: 7,053 countSpain7,053Romania: 3,419 countRomania3,419Austria: 2,799 countAustria2,799Finland: 2,410 countFinland2,410Netherlands: 2,288 countNetherlands2,288Denmark: 2,250 countDenmark2,250Slovakia: 2,223 countSlovakia2,223Greece: 2,080 countGreece2,080Hungary: 1,728 countHungary1,728Belgium: 1,478 countBelgium1,478Sweden: 1,435 countSweden1,435Portugal: 1,309 countPortugal1,309Ireland: 1,110 countIreland1,110Croatia: 790 countCroatia790Bulgaria: 766 countBulgaria766Slovenia: 404 countSlovenia404Lithuania: 352 countLithuania352Estonia: 319 countEstonia319Latvia: 293 countLatvia293Cyprus: 247 countCyprus247Malta: 165 countMalta165Luxembourg: 68 countLuxembourg68
count. Source: Eurostat, Structural business statistics, Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation (NACE Rev. 2 section E), enterprises, number (sbs_ovw_act). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankEU countries2024
count		Change on 2023
1France12,891+2.4%
2Germany9,769+0.2%
3Italy8,579-9.3%
4Poland8,186+0.4%
5Czechia7,071-0.1%
6Spain7,053-0.3%
7Romania3,419-2.8%
8Austria2,799-1.5%
9Finland2,410+0.1%
10Netherlands2,288+8.8%
11Denmark2,250-3.4%
12Slovakia2,223+5.9%
13Greece2,080+3.3%
14Hungary1,728-4.7%
15Belgium1,478-4.2%
16Sweden1,435-0.2%
17Portugal1,309+2%
18Ireland1,110-2.3%
19Croatia790-2.5%
20Bulgaria766-0.4%
21Slovenia404-1.9%
22Lithuania352-0.3%
23Estonia319-0.9%
24Latvia293-0.7%
25Cyprus247+1.6%
26Malta1650%
27Luxembourg680%

Other periods

About this ranking

Number of enterprises active at any time during the year in water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation (NACE Rev.

More on how it is measured
  • 2 section E), 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, Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation (NACE Rev. 2 section E), 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, Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation (NACE Rev. 2 section E), enterprises, number (sbs_ovw_act) (EU countries by enterprises in water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation, 2024) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_ovw_act/default/table

MLA 9

Structural business statistics, Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation (NACE Rev. 2 section E), enterprises, number (sbs_ovw_act), EU countries by enterprises in water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation, 2024. Eurostat, European Commission, 30 Sept. 2026, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_ovw_act/default/table. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/enterprises-water-waste/eu-countries. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Eurostat, European Commission. 2026. Structural business statistics, Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation (NACE Rev. 2 section E), enterprises, number (sbs_ovw_act). EU countries by enterprises in water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation, 2024. 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-water-waste/eu-countries.

Harvard

Eurostat, European Commission (2026) Structural business statistics, Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation (NACE Rev. 2 section E), enterprises, number (sbs_ovw_act), EU countries by enterprises in water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation, 2024 [Dataset]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_ovw_act/default/table, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/enterprises-water-waste/eu-countries (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_enterprises_2024,
  author = {{Eurostat, European Commission}},
  title = {{Structural business statistics, Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation (NACE Rev. 2 section E), enterprises, number (sbs\_ovw\_act): EU countries by enterprises in water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation, 2024}},
  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-water-waste/eu-countries. Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Structural business statistics, Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation (NACE Rev. 2 section E), 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, Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation (NACE Rev. 2 section E), enterprises, number (sbs_ovw_act): EU countries by enterprises in water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation, 2024
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-water-waste/eu-countries
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/enterprises-water-waste/eu-countries.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Structural business statistics, Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation (NACE Rev. 2 section E), 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 water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation?

France, with 12,891 in 2024, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest enterprises in water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation?

Luxembourg, with 68 in 2024.

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, Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation (NACE Rev. 2 section E), enterprises, number (sbs_ovw_act). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

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