Data / Rankings / Local units in professional, scientific and technical activities / EU countries

EU countries by local units in professional, scientific and technical activities

Italy had the highest local units in professional, scientific and technical activities of 27 EU countries in 2021, at 849,191. Malta had the lowest, at 7,335. The median was 90,384. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

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Highest849,191Italy
Lowest7,335Malta
Median90,38427 EU countries

Map of EU countries, 2021

Austria: 106,271 countBelgium: 182,635 countBulgaria: 47,630 countCyprus: 11,311 countCzechia: 207,338 countGermany: 523,589 countDenmark: 42,115 countEstonia: 23,014 countSpain: 472,868 countFinland: 64,987 countFrance: 668,492 countGreece: 151,856 countCroatia: 38,395 countHungary: 170,915 countIreland: 52,008 countItaly: 849,191 countLithuania: 40,699 countLuxembourg: 10,699 countLatvia: 19,715 countMalta: 7,335 countNetherlands: 476,366 countPoland: 357,428 countPortugal: 143,819 countRomania: 78,043 countSweden: 200,808 countSlovenia: 38,109 countSlovakia: 90,384 count
  • Under 38K
  • 38K to 57K
  • 57K to 150K
  • 150K to 330K
  • 330K and over
count, 2021. Source: Eurostat, Local units by NUTS 2 region, Professional, scientific and technical activities (NACE Rev. 2 section M) (sbs_r_nuts2021). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All EU countries, 2021

Italy: 849,191 countItaly849,191France: 668,492 countFrance668,492Germany: 523,589 countGermany523,589Netherlands: 476,366 countNetherlands476,366Spain: 472,868 countSpain472,868Poland: 357,428 countPoland357,428Czechia: 207,338 countCzechia207,338Sweden: 200,808 countSweden200,808Belgium: 182,635 countBelgium182,635Hungary: 170,915 countHungary170,915Greece: 151,856 countGreece151,856Portugal: 143,819 countPortugal143,819Austria: 106,271 countAustria106,271Slovakia: 90,384 countSlovakia90,384Romania: 78,043 countRomania78,043Finland: 64,987 countFinland64,987Ireland: 52,008 countIreland52,008Bulgaria: 47,630 countBulgaria47,630Denmark: 42,115 countDenmark42,115Lithuania: 40,699 countLithuania40,699Croatia: 38,395 countCroatia38,395Slovenia: 38,109 countSlovenia38,109Estonia: 23,014 countEstonia23,014Latvia: 19,715 countLatvia19,715Cyprus: 11,311 countCyprus11,311Luxembourg: 10,699 countLuxembourg10,699Malta: 7,335 countMalta7,335Italy: 849,191 countItaly849,191France: 668,492 countFrance668,492Germany: 523,589 countGermany523,589Netherlands: 476,366 countNetherlands476,366Spain: 472,868 countSpain472,868Poland: 357,428 countPoland357,428Czechia: 207,338 countCzechia207,338Sweden: 200,808 countSweden200,808Belgium: 182,635 countBelgium182,635Hungary: 170,915 countHungary170,915Greece: 151,856 countGreece151,856Portugal: 143,819 countPortugal143,819Austria: 106,271 countAustria106,271Slovakia: 90,384 countSlovakia90,384Romania: 78,043 countRomania78,043Finland: 64,987 countFinland64,987Ireland: 52,008 countIreland52,008Bulgaria: 47,630 countBulgaria47,630Denmark: 42,115 countDenmark42,115Lithuania: 40,699 countLithuania40,699Croatia: 38,395 countCroatia38,395Slovenia: 38,109 countSlovenia38,109Estonia: 23,014 countEstonia23,014Latvia: 19,715 countLatvia19,715Cyprus: 11,311 countCyprus11,311Luxembourg: 10,699 countLuxembourg10,699Malta: 7,335 countMalta7,335
count. Source: Eurostat, Local units by NUTS 2 region, Professional, scientific and technical activities (NACE Rev. 2 section M) (sbs_r_nuts2021). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankEU countries2021
count
1Italy849,191
2France Series break668,492
3Germany523,589
4Netherlands Series break476,366
5Spain472,868
6Poland357,428
7Czechia207,338
8Sweden200,808
9Belgium182,635
10Hungary170,915
11Greece151,856
12Portugal Series break143,819
13Austria Series break106,271
14Slovakia90,384
15Romania78,043
16Finland Series break64,987
17Ireland52,008
18Bulgaria47,630
19Denmark42,115
20Lithuania40,699
21Croatia38,395
22Slovenia38,109
23Estonia23,014
24Latvia19,715
25Cyprus11,311
26Luxembourg10,699
27Malta7,335

Other periods

About this ranking

Number of local units of enterprises in professional, scientific and technical activities (NACE Rev. 2 section M). A local unit is an enterprise, or part of one, at a geographically identified place, such as a factory, shop, office or warehouse. Eurostat structural business statistics by region.

Eurostat structural business statistics by region (sbs_r_nuts2021), from 2021. Counted where each unit is located, so an enterprise with shops in several regions counts once in each. Countries and NUTS 2 regions. Eurostat publishes 2021 on NUTS 2021 codes and later years on NUTS 2024 codes, so regions created in 2024 (in Portugal and the Netherlands) start in 2022. Some countries publish estimates, flagged as such.

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. Local units by NUTS 2 region, Professional, scientific and technical activities (NACE Rev. 2 section M) (sbs_r_nuts2021). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_r_nuts2021/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). Local units by NUTS 2 region, Professional, scientific and technical activities (NACE Rev. 2 section M) (sbs_r_nuts2021) (EU countries by local units in professional, scientific and technical activities, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_r_nuts2021/default/table

MLA 9

Local units by NUTS 2 region, Professional, scientific and technical activities (NACE Rev. 2 section M) (sbs_r_nuts2021), EU countries by local units in professional, scientific and technical activities, 2021. Eurostat, European Commission, 30 Sept. 2026, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_r_nuts2021/default/table. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/local-units-professional-scientific/eu-countries?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Eurostat, European Commission. 2026. Local units by NUTS 2 region, Professional, scientific and technical activities (NACE Rev. 2 section M) (sbs_r_nuts2021). EU countries by local units in professional, scientific and technical activities, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_r_nuts2021/default/table. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/local-units-professional-scientific/eu-countries?period=2021.

Harvard

Eurostat, European Commission (2026) Local units by NUTS 2 region, Professional, scientific and technical activities (NACE Rev. 2 section M) (sbs_r_nuts2021), EU countries by local units in professional, scientific and technical activities, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_r_nuts2021/default/table, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/local-units-professional-scientific/eu-countries?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_local_2021,
  author = {{Eurostat, European Commission}},
  title = {{Local units by NUTS 2 region, Professional, scientific and technical activities (NACE Rev. 2 section M) (sbs\_r\_nuts2021): EU countries by local units in professional, scientific and technical activities, 2021}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_r_nuts2021/default/table},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/local-units-professional-scientific/eu-countries?period=2021. Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Local units by NUTS 2 region, Professional, scientific and technical activities (NACE Rev. 2 section M) (sbs\_r\_nuts2021). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs\_r\_nuts2021/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - Eurostat, European Commission
TI  - Local units by NUTS 2 region, Professional, scientific and technical activities (NACE Rev. 2 section M) (sbs_r_nuts2021): EU countries by local units in professional, scientific and technical activities, 2021
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/30
PB  - Eurostat, European Commission
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_r_nuts2021/default/table
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/local-units-professional-scientific/eu-countries?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/local-units-professional-scientific/eu-countries?period=2021.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Local units by NUTS 2 region, Professional, scientific and technical activities (NACE Rev. 2 section M) (sbs_r_nuts2021). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_r_nuts2021/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which EU country has the highest local units in professional, scientific and technical activities?

Italy, with 849,191 in 2021, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest local units in professional, scientific and technical activities?

Malta, with 7,335 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, Local units by NUTS 2 region, Professional, scientific and technical activities (NACE Rev. 2 section M) (sbs_r_nuts2021). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Local units in professional, scientific and technical activities: other rankings

EU countries: more rankings