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

France had the highest enterprises in water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation of 26 EU countries in 2017, at 10,977. Luxembourg had the lowest, at 61. The median was 1,507 and the figure for the European Union (27) was 71,347. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

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Highest10,977France
Lowest61Luxembourg
Median1,50726 EU countries
European Union (27)71,347History

Map of EU countries, 2017

Austria: 2,207 countBelgium: 1,435 countBulgaria: 793 countCyprus: 197 countCzechia: 6,495 countGermany: 5,570 countDenmark: 2,525 countEstonia: 282 countSpain: 6,812 countFinland: 1,480 countFrance: 10,977 countGreece: 1,784 countCroatia: 815 countHungary: 1,756 countIreland: 1,028 countItaly: 8,957 countLithuania: 431 countLuxembourg: 61 countLatvia: 358 countNetherlands: 1,852 countPoland: 7,747 countPortugal: 1,219 countRomania: 3,022 countSweden: 1,534 countSlovenia: 419 countSlovakia: 1,440 count
  • Under 400
  • 400 to 1,400
  • 1,400 to 1,800
  • 1,800 to 5,600
  • 5,600 and over
  • No data
count, 2017. Hatched areas have no value for this period. Source: Eurostat, Structural business statistics (2005 to 2020), Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation (NACE Rev. 2 section E), enterprises, number (sbs_na_sca_r2). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All EU countries, 2017

France: 10,977 countFrance10,977Italy: 8,957 countItaly8,957Poland: 7,747 countPoland7,747Spain: 6,812 countSpain6,812Czechia: 6,495 countCzechia6,495Germany: 5,570 countGermany5,570Romania: 3,022 countRomania3,022Denmark: 2,525 countDenmark2,525Austria: 2,207 countAustria2,207Netherlands: 1,852 countNetherlands1,852Greece: 1,784 countGreece1,784Hungary: 1,756 countHungary1,756Sweden: 1,534 countSweden1,534Finland: 1,480 countFinland1,480Slovakia: 1,440 countSlovakia1,440Belgium: 1,435 countBelgium1,435Portugal: 1,219 countPortugal1,219Ireland: 1,028 countIreland1,028Croatia: 815 countCroatia815Bulgaria: 793 countBulgaria793Lithuania: 431 countLithuania431Slovenia: 419 countSlovenia419Latvia: 358 countLatvia358Estonia: 282 countEstonia282Cyprus: 197 countCyprus197Luxembourg: 61 countLuxembourg61France: 10,977 countFrance10,977Italy: 8,957 countItaly8,957Poland: 7,747 countPoland7,747Spain: 6,812 countSpain6,812Czechia: 6,495 countCzechia6,495Germany: 5,570 countGermany5,570Romania: 3,022 countRomania3,022Denmark: 2,525 countDenmark2,525Austria: 2,207 countAustria2,207Netherlands: 1,852 countNetherlands1,852Greece: 1,784 countGreece1,784Hungary: 1,756 countHungary1,756Sweden: 1,534 countSweden1,534Finland: 1,480 countFinland1,480Slovakia: 1,440 countSlovakia1,440Belgium: 1,435 countBelgium1,435Portugal: 1,219 countPortugal1,219Ireland: 1,028 countIreland1,028Croatia: 815 countCroatia815Bulgaria: 793 countBulgaria793Lithuania: 431 countLithuania431Slovenia: 419 countSlovenia419Latvia: 358 countLatvia358Estonia: 282 countEstonia282Cyprus: 197 countCyprus197Luxembourg: 61 countLuxembourg61
count. Source: Eurostat, Structural business statistics (2005 to 2020), Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation (NACE Rev. 2 section E), enterprises, number (sbs_na_sca_r2). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankEU countries2017
count		Change on 2016
1France Series break10,977-14.5%
2Italy Series break8,957-3.3%
3Poland7,747+4.9%
4Spain6,812+1.9%
5Czechia6,495+1.1%
6Germany5,570+0.8%
7Romania3,022+1.8%
8Denmark2,525-1.1%
9Austria2,207+1.7%
10Netherlands1,852+2.2%
11Greece1,784-15.7%
12Hungary1,756-3.6%
13Sweden1,534+2.2%
14Finland Series break1,480+1.5%
15Slovakia1,440+5%
16Belgium1,435+13.2%
17Portugal1,219-0.8%
18Ireland1,028+2%
19Croatia815-2.6%
20Bulgaria793-3.3%
21Lithuania431+1.7%
22Slovenia419+1%
23Latvia358+0.3%
24Estonia282+0.4%
25Cyprus197+3.7%
26Luxembourg61-7.6%

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. 1 EU countries with data in other periods have no value for 2017 and are left out rather than filled from another source. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

Eurostat. Structural business statistics (2005 to 2020), Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation (NACE Rev. 2 section E), 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), Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation (NACE Rev. 2 section E), enterprises, number (sbs_na_sca_r2) (EU countries by enterprises in water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation, 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), Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation (NACE Rev. 2 section E), enterprises, number (sbs_na_sca_r2), EU countries by enterprises in water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation, 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-water-waste/eu-countries?period=2017. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Eurostat, European Commission. 2024. Structural business statistics (2005 to 2020), Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation (NACE Rev. 2 section E), enterprises, number (sbs_na_sca_r2). EU countries by enterprises in water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation, 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-water-waste/eu-countries?period=2017.

Harvard

Eurostat, European Commission (2024) Structural business statistics (2005 to 2020), Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation (NACE Rev. 2 section E), enterprises, number (sbs_na_sca_r2), EU countries by enterprises in water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation, 2017 [Dataset]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_na_sca_r2/default/table, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/enterprises-water-waste/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), Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation (NACE Rev. 2 section E), enterprises, number (sbs\_na\_sca\_r2): EU countries by enterprises in water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation, 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-water-waste/eu-countries?period=2017. Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Structural business statistics (2005 to 2020), Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation (NACE Rev. 2 section E), 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), Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation (NACE Rev. 2 section E), enterprises, number (sbs_na_sca_r2): EU countries by enterprises in water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation, 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-water-waste/eu-countries?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/enterprises-water-waste/eu-countries?period=2017.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Structural business statistics (2005 to 2020), Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation (NACE Rev. 2 section E), 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 water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation?

France, with 10,977 in 2017, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

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

Luxembourg, with 61 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), Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation (NACE Rev. 2 section E), enterprises, number (sbs_na_sca_r2). Retrieved 2026-10-12. 1 EU countries have no value for 2017 and are not ranked.

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