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 2021, at 11,342. Luxembourg had the lowest, at 68. The median was 1,805 and the figure for the European Union (27) was 79,677. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

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Highest11,342France
Lowest68Luxembourg
Median1,80527 EU countries
European Union (27)79,677History

Map of EU countries, 2021

Austria: 2,833 countBelgium: 1,335 countBulgaria: 790 countCyprus: 231 countCzechia: 7,331 countGermany: 9,127 countDenmark: 2,442 countEstonia: 286 countSpain: 6,828 countFinland: 2,398 countFrance: 11,342 countGreece: 1,961 countCroatia: 817 countHungary: 1,849 countIreland: 1,095 countItaly: 9,568 countLithuania: 375 countLuxembourg: 68 countLatvia: 320 countMalta: 175 countNetherlands: 1,998 countPoland: 8,110 countPortugal: 1,287 countRomania: 3,510 countSweden: 1,384 countSlovenia: 412 countSlovakia: 1,805 count
  • Under 400
  • 400 to 1,300
  • 1,300 to 2,000
  • 2,000 to 6,200
  • 6,200 and over
count, 2021. 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, 2021

France: 11,342 countFrance11,342Italy: 9,568 countItaly9,568Germany: 9,127 countGermany9,127Poland: 8,110 countPoland8,110Czechia: 7,331 countCzechia7,331Spain: 6,828 countSpain6,828Romania: 3,510 countRomania3,510Austria: 2,833 countAustria2,833Denmark: 2,442 countDenmark2,442Finland: 2,398 countFinland2,398Netherlands: 1,998 countNetherlands1,998Greece: 1,961 countGreece1,961Hungary: 1,849 countHungary1,849Slovakia: 1,805 countSlovakia1,805Sweden: 1,384 countSweden1,384Belgium: 1,335 countBelgium1,335Portugal: 1,287 countPortugal1,287Ireland: 1,095 countIreland1,095Croatia: 817 countCroatia817Bulgaria: 790 countBulgaria790Slovenia: 412 countSlovenia412Lithuania: 375 countLithuania375Latvia: 320 countLatvia320Estonia: 286 countEstonia286Cyprus: 231 countCyprus231Malta: 175 countMalta175Luxembourg: 68 countLuxembourg68France: 11,342 countFrance11,342Italy: 9,568 countItaly9,568Germany: 9,127 countGermany9,127Poland: 8,110 countPoland8,110Czechia: 7,331 countCzechia7,331Spain: 6,828 countSpain6,828Romania: 3,510 countRomania3,510Austria: 2,833 countAustria2,833Denmark: 2,442 countDenmark2,442Finland: 2,398 countFinland2,398Netherlands: 1,998 countNetherlands1,998Greece: 1,961 countGreece1,961Hungary: 1,849 countHungary1,849Slovakia: 1,805 countSlovakia1,805Sweden: 1,384 countSweden1,384Belgium: 1,335 countBelgium1,335Portugal: 1,287 countPortugal1,287Ireland: 1,095 countIreland1,095Croatia: 817 countCroatia817Bulgaria: 790 countBulgaria790Slovenia: 412 countSlovenia412Lithuania: 375 countLithuania375Latvia: 320 countLatvia320Estonia: 286 countEstonia286Cyprus: 231 countCyprus231Malta: 175 countMalta175Luxembourg: 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 countries2021
count		Change on 2020
1France Series break11,342+2.8%
2Italy Series break9,568-0.2%
3Germany Series break9,127-8.8%
4Poland Series break8,110-0.9%
5Czechia Series break7,331+2.5%
6Spain Series break6,828+0.9%
7Romania Series break3,510+14.1%
8Austria Series break2,833+33.3%
9Denmark Series break2,442-1.2%
10Finland Series break2,398+57%
11Netherlands Series break1,998-2.2%
12Greece Series break1,961+2%
13Hungary Series break1,849+8.2%
14Slovakia Series break1,805+4.3%
15Sweden Series break1,384+1.3%
16Belgium Series break1,335-11.8%
17Portugal Series break1,287+0.4%
18Ireland Series break1,095+2.8%
19Croatia Series break817-4.1%
20Bulgaria Series break790+1%
21Slovenia Series break412+3.3%
22Lithuania Series break375-5.8%
23Latvia Series break320-1.2%
24Estonia Series break286+4%
25Cyprus Series break231+4.5%
26Malta Series break175+15.9%
27Luxembourg Series break68+3%

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, 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, 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, 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-water-waste/eu-countries?period=2021. 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, 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-water-waste/eu-countries?period=2021.

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, 2021 [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?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_enterprises_2021,
  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, 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-water-waste/eu-countries?period=2021. 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, 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-water-waste/eu-countries?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/enterprises-water-waste/eu-countries?period=2021.
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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Rank EU countries by enterprises in water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

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

France, with 11,342 in 2021, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

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

Luxembourg, with 68 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, 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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