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 27 EU countries in 2020, at 11,029. Luxembourg had the lowest, at 66. The median was 1,527 and the figure for the European Union (27) was 78,026. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

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Highest11,029France
Lowest66Luxembourg
Median1,52727 EU countries
European Union (27)78,026History

Map of EU countries, 2020

Austria: 2,126 countBelgium: 1,514 countBulgaria: 782 countCyprus: 221 countCzechia: 7,149 countGermany: 10,009 countDenmark: 2,472 countEstonia: 275 countSpain: 6,767 countFinland: 1,527 countFrance: 11,029 countGreece: 1,922 countCroatia: 852 countHungary: 1,709 countIreland: 1,065 countItaly: 9,589 countLithuania: 398 countLuxembourg: 66 countLatvia: 324 countMalta: 151 countNetherlands: 2,042 countPoland: 8,185 countPortugal: 1,282 countRomania: 3,075 countSweden: 1,366 countSlovenia: 399 countSlovakia: 1,731 count
  • Under 400
  • 400 to 1,300
  • 1,300 to 1,800
  • 1,800 to 6,000
  • 6,000 and over
count, 2020. 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, 2020

France: 11,029 countFrance11,029Germany: 10,009 countGermany10,009Italy: 9,589 countItaly9,589Poland: 8,185 countPoland8,185Czechia: 7,149 countCzechia7,149Spain: 6,767 countSpain6,767Romania: 3,075 countRomania3,075Denmark: 2,472 countDenmark2,472Austria: 2,126 countAustria2,126Netherlands: 2,042 countNetherlands2,042Greece: 1,922 countGreece1,922Slovakia: 1,731 countSlovakia1,731Hungary: 1,709 countHungary1,709Finland: 1,527 countFinland1,527Belgium: 1,514 countBelgium1,514Sweden: 1,366 countSweden1,366Portugal: 1,282 countPortugal1,282Ireland: 1,065 countIreland1,065Croatia: 852 countCroatia852Bulgaria: 782 countBulgaria782Slovenia: 399 countSlovenia399Lithuania: 398 countLithuania398Latvia: 324 countLatvia324Estonia: 275 countEstonia275Cyprus: 221 countCyprus221Malta: 151 countMalta151Luxembourg: 66 countLuxembourg66France: 11,029 countFrance11,029Germany: 10,009 countGermany10,009Italy: 9,589 countItaly9,589Poland: 8,185 countPoland8,185Czechia: 7,149 countCzechia7,149Spain: 6,767 countSpain6,767Romania: 3,075 countRomania3,075Denmark: 2,472 countDenmark2,472Austria: 2,126 countAustria2,126Netherlands: 2,042 countNetherlands2,042Greece: 1,922 countGreece1,922Slovakia: 1,731 countSlovakia1,731Hungary: 1,709 countHungary1,709Finland: 1,527 countFinland1,527Belgium: 1,514 countBelgium1,514Sweden: 1,366 countSweden1,366Portugal: 1,282 countPortugal1,282Ireland: 1,065 countIreland1,065Croatia: 852 countCroatia852Bulgaria: 782 countBulgaria782Slovenia: 399 countSlovenia399Lithuania: 398 countLithuania398Latvia: 324 countLatvia324Estonia: 275 countEstonia275Cyprus: 221 countCyprus221Malta: 151 countMalta151Luxembourg: 66 countLuxembourg66
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 countries2020
count		Change on 2019
1France11,029+2.5%
2Germany10,009-2.2%
3Italy9,589+4.9%
4Poland8,185+1.4%
5Czechia7,149+3%
6Spain6,767+7.3%
7Romania3,075+0.3%
8Denmark2,472-1.7%
9Austria2,126-0.1%
10Netherlands2,042-8.8%
11Greece1,922-1%
12Slovakia1,731+5.3%
13Hungary1,709-2.3%
14Finland1,527+1.4%
15Belgium1,514+2.1%
16Sweden1,366+2.3%
17Portugal1,282-1.7%
18Ireland1,065+4%
19Croatia852+1.7%
20Bulgaria782-1.1%
21Slovenia399-2.2%
22Lithuania398-4.8%
23Latvia324-6.6%
24Estonia275+1.5%
25Cyprus221+4.2%
26Malta151n/a
27Luxembourg66+3.1%

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 (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, 2020) [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, 2020. 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=2020. 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, 2020. 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=2020.

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, 2020 [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=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_enterprises_2020,
  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, 2020}},
  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=2020. 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, 2020
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=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/enterprises-water-waste/eu-countries?period=2020.
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 11,029 in 2020, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

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

Luxembourg, with 66 in 2020.

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.

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