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 2023, at 925,662. Malta had the lowest, at 8,882. The median was 101,112. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

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Highest925,662Italy
Lowest8,882Malta
Median101,11227 EU countries

Map of EU countries, 2023

Austria: 110,211 countBelgium: 189,028 countBulgaria: 51,304 countCyprus: 13,276 countCzechia: 215,410 countGermany: 541,473 countDenmark: 45,666 countEstonia: 29,361 countSpain: 483,073 countFinland: 69,781 countFrance: 817,503 countGreece: 165,243 countCroatia: 42,920 countHungary: 156,191 countIreland: 52,917 countItaly: 925,662 countLithuania: 48,060 countLuxembourg: 11,185 countLatvia: 20,315 countMalta: 8,882 countNetherlands: 521,660 countPoland: 377,953 countPortugal: 158,564 countRomania: 83,207 countSweden: 208,429 countSlovenia: 41,064 countSlovakia: 101,112 count
  • Under 41K
  • 41K to 60K
  • 60K to 160K
  • 160K to 350K
  • 350K and over
count, 2023. 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, 2023

Italy: 925,662 countItaly925,662France: 817,503 countFrance817,503Germany: 541,473 countGermany541,473Netherlands: 521,660 countNetherlands521,660Spain: 483,073 countSpain483,073Poland: 377,953 countPoland377,953Czechia: 215,410 countCzechia215,410Sweden: 208,429 countSweden208,429Belgium: 189,028 countBelgium189,028Greece: 165,243 countGreece165,243Portugal: 158,564 countPortugal158,564Hungary: 156,191 countHungary156,191Austria: 110,211 countAustria110,211Slovakia: 101,112 countSlovakia101,112Romania: 83,207 countRomania83,207Finland: 69,781 countFinland69,781Ireland: 52,917 countIreland52,917Bulgaria: 51,304 countBulgaria51,304Lithuania: 48,060 countLithuania48,060Denmark: 45,666 countDenmark45,666Croatia: 42,920 countCroatia42,920Slovenia: 41,064 countSlovenia41,064Estonia: 29,361 countEstonia29,361Latvia: 20,315 countLatvia20,315Cyprus: 13,276 countCyprus13,276Luxembourg: 11,185 countLuxembourg11,185Malta: 8,882 countMalta8,882Italy: 925,662 countItaly925,662France: 817,503 countFrance817,503Germany: 541,473 countGermany541,473Netherlands: 521,660 countNetherlands521,660Spain: 483,073 countSpain483,073Poland: 377,953 countPoland377,953Czechia: 215,410 countCzechia215,410Sweden: 208,429 countSweden208,429Belgium: 189,028 countBelgium189,028Greece: 165,243 countGreece165,243Portugal: 158,564 countPortugal158,564Hungary: 156,191 countHungary156,191Austria: 110,211 countAustria110,211Slovakia: 101,112 countSlovakia101,112Romania: 83,207 countRomania83,207Finland: 69,781 countFinland69,781Ireland: 52,917 countIreland52,917Bulgaria: 51,304 countBulgaria51,304Lithuania: 48,060 countLithuania48,060Denmark: 45,666 countDenmark45,666Croatia: 42,920 countCroatia42,920Slovenia: 41,064 countSlovenia41,064Estonia: 29,361 countEstonia29,361Latvia: 20,315 countLatvia20,315Cyprus: 13,276 countCyprus13,276Luxembourg: 11,185 countLuxembourg11,185Malta: 8,882 countMalta8,882
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 countries2023
count		Change on 2022
1Italy925,662+3.2%
2France817,503+6.7%
3Germany541,473+1.9%
4Netherlands521,660+4%
5Spain483,073-0.8%
6Poland377,953+3.9%
7Czechia215,410+1.6%
8Sweden208,429+5.7%
9Belgium189,028-4.2%
10Greece165,243+3.1%
11Portugal158,564+4.7%
12Hungary156,191-11.4%
13Austria110,211+4.1%
14Slovakia101,112+4.7%
15Romania83,207+4.3%
16Finland69,781-0.5%
17Ireland52,917+3.1%
18Bulgaria51,304+3.2%
19Lithuania48,060+8%
20Denmark45,666+2.2%
21Croatia42,920+6.5%
22Slovenia41,064+3%
23Estonia29,361+11.4%
24Latvia20,315-1.7%
25Cyprus13,276+6.5%
26Luxembourg11,185+1.7%
27Malta8,882+16%

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, 2023) [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, 2023. 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=2023. 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, 2023. 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=2023.

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, 2023 [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=2023 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_local_2023,
  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, 2023}},
  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=2023. 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, 2023
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=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/local-units-professional-scientific/eu-countries?period=2023.
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 925,662 in 2023, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

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

Malta, with 8,882 in 2023.

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