EU countries by persons employed in real estate activities

Germany had the highest persons employed in real estate activities of 27 EU countries in 2020, at 500,367. Malta had the lowest, at 3,070. The median was 47,824 and the figure for the European Union (27) was 2.46 million. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest500,367Germany

Lowest3,070Malta

Median47,82427 EU countries

European Union (27)2,460,934History

Map of EU countries, 2020

Under 14K
14K to 32K
32K to 61K
61K to 88K
88K and over

persons, 2020. Source: Eurostat, Structural business statistics (2005 to 2020), Real estate activities (NACE Rev. 2 section L), persons employed, number (sbs_na_sca_r2). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All EU countries, 2020

persons. Source: Eurostat, Structural business statistics (2005 to 2020), Real estate activities (NACE Rev. 2 section L), persons employed, number (sbs_na_sca_r2). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

Rank	EU countries	2020 persons	Change on 2019
1	Germany	500,367	-12.7%
2	France	307,282	+6.9%
3	Italy	298,843	-2.1%
4	Spain	272,965	-3.8%
5	Poland	195,635	+1.9%
6	Sweden	89,326	-2.9%
7	Belgium	81,333	+0.8%
8	Portugal	79,048	+1.1%
9	Netherlands	78,347	+0.6%
10	Hungary	75,860	-1.7%
11	Czechia	61,374	+1.5%
12	Denmark	60,724	+0.2%
13	Austria	53,520	+4.4%
14	Romania	47,824	-5.5%
15	Bulgaria	39,740	+0.2%
16	Slovakia	34,538	+1.2%
17	Lithuania	31,009	-4.1%
18	Latvia	30,965	+2.4%
19	Ireland	30,866	-6.1%
20	Finland	27,812	+5.2%
21	Greece	20,995	-2.2%
22	Estonia	12,634	+1.4%
23	Croatia	12,268	+8.3%
24	Slovenia	6,307	+2.6%
25	Luxembourg	4,919	-3.2%
26	Cyprus	3,090	+2.5%
27	Malta	3,070	-1.4%

Other periods

About this ranking

Number of persons who work in enterprises of real estate activities (NACE Rev. 2 section L): employees plus working proprietors, partners working regularly in the enterprise and unpaid family workers. A head count, not full-time equivalents. Eurostat structural business statistics.

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), Real estate activities (NACE Rev. 2 section L), persons employed, 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), Real estate activities (NACE Rev. 2 section L), persons employed, number (sbs_na_sca_r2) (EU countries by persons employed in real estate activities, 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), Real estate activities (NACE Rev. 2 section L), persons employed, number (sbs_na_sca_r2), EU countries by persons employed in real estate activities, 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/persons-employed-real-estate/eu-countries?period=2020. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Eurostat, European Commission. 2024. Structural business statistics (2005 to 2020), Real estate activities (NACE Rev. 2 section L), persons employed, number (sbs_na_sca_r2). EU countries by persons employed in real estate activities, 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/persons-employed-real-estate/eu-countries?period=2020.

Harvard

Eurostat, European Commission (2024) Structural business statistics (2005 to 2020), Real estate activities (NACE Rev. 2 section L), persons employed, number (sbs_na_sca_r2), EU countries by persons employed in real estate activities, 2020 [Dataset]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_na_sca_r2/default/table, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/persons-employed-real-estate/eu-countries?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_persons_2020,
  author = {{Eurostat, European Commission}},
  title = {{Structural business statistics (2005 to 2020), Real estate activities (NACE Rev. 2 section L), persons employed, number (sbs\_na\_sca\_r2): EU countries by persons employed in real estate activities, 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/persons-employed-real-estate/eu-countries?period=2020. Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Structural business statistics (2005 to 2020), Real estate activities (NACE Rev. 2 section L), persons employed, 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), Real estate activities (NACE Rev. 2 section L), persons employed, number (sbs_na_sca_r2): EU countries by persons employed in real estate activities, 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/persons-employed-real-estate/eu-countries?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/persons-employed-real-estate/eu-countries?period=2020.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Structural business statistics (2005 to 2020), Real estate activities (NACE Rev. 2 section L), persons employed, 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 persons employed in real estate activities?

Germany, with 500,367 in 2020, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest persons employed in real estate activities?

Malta, with 3,070 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), Real estate activities (NACE Rev. 2 section L), persons employed, number (sbs_na_sca_r2). Retrieved 2026-10-12.