EU countries by local units in water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation

France had the highest local units in water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation of 27 EU countries in 2023, at 18,357. Luxembourg had the lowest, at 81. The median was 2,329. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest18,357France

Lowest81Luxembourg

Median2,32927 EU countries

Map of EU countries, 2023

Under 600
600 to 2,000
2,000 to 2,900
2,900 to 7,500
7,500 and over

count, 2023. Source: Eurostat, Local units by NUTS 2 region, Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation (NACE Rev. 2 section E) (sbs_r_nuts2021). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All EU countries, 2023

count. Source: Eurostat, Local units by NUTS 2 region, Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation (NACE Rev. 2 section E) (sbs_r_nuts2021). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

Rank	EU countries	2023 count	Change on 2022
1	France	18,357	+3.4%
2	Italy	15,077	0%
3	Germany	12,650	-0.1%
4	Spain	9,194	+2.5%
5	Poland	9,157	+1.5%
6	Czechia	8,431	-0.2%
7	Austria	3,561	+0.5%
8	Romania	3,554	+1.4%
9	Denmark	3,157	+0.8%
10	Hungary	3,037	-1.2%
11	Netherlands	2,880	+0.4%
12	Sweden	2,816	+5.6%
13	Finland	2,802	+0.1%
14	Greece	2,329	+3.5%
15	Slovakia	2,164	+5.9%
16	Belgium	1,985	-3.5%
17	Portugal	1,946	-23.1%
18	Ireland	1,136	+0.3%
19	Croatia	1,135	-1%
20	Bulgaria	1,096	+4.8%
21	Lithuania	754	-4.6%
22	Latvia	562	-5.7%
23	Estonia	512	+2.8%
24	Slovenia	458	-1.5%
25	Cyprus	249	-9.8%
26	Malta	165	+1.2%
27	Luxembourg	81	+1.3%

Other periods

2024
2023
2022
2021

About this ranking

Number of local units of enterprises in water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation (NACE Rev. 2 section E). 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, Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation (NACE Rev. 2 section E) (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, Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation (NACE Rev. 2 section E) (sbs_r_nuts2021) (EU countries by local units in water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation, 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, Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation (NACE Rev. 2 section E) (sbs_r_nuts2021), EU countries by local units in water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation, 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-water-waste/eu-countries?period=2023. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Eurostat, European Commission. 2026. Local units by NUTS 2 region, Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation (NACE Rev. 2 section E) (sbs_r_nuts2021). EU countries by local units in water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation, 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-water-waste/eu-countries?period=2023.

Harvard

Eurostat, European Commission (2026) Local units by NUTS 2 region, Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation (NACE Rev. 2 section E) (sbs_r_nuts2021), EU countries by local units in water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation, 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_r_nuts2021/default/table, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/local-units-water-waste/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, Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation (NACE Rev. 2 section E) (sbs\_r\_nuts2021): EU countries by local units in water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation, 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-water-waste/eu-countries?period=2023. Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Local units by NUTS 2 region, Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation (NACE Rev. 2 section E) (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, Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation (NACE Rev. 2 section E) (sbs_r_nuts2021): EU countries by local units in water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation, 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-water-waste/eu-countries?period=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/local-units-water-waste/eu-countries?period=2023.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Local units by NUTS 2 region, Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation (NACE Rev. 2 section E) (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 water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation?

France, with 18,357 in 2023, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

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

Luxembourg, with 81 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, Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation (NACE Rev. 2 section E) (sbs_r_nuts2021). Retrieved 2026-10-12.