EU countries by persons employed in wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles

Germany had the highest persons employed in wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles of 27 EU countries in 2021, at 6.38 million. Malta had the lowest, at 40,283. The median was 596,659 and the figure for the European Union (27) was 29.51 million. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest6,376,494Germany

Lowest40,283Malta

Median596,65927 EU countries

European Union (27)29,506,082History

Map of EU countries, 2021

Under 170K
170K to 420K
420K to 700K
700K to 1.5M
1.5M and over

persons, 2021. Source: Eurostat, Structural business statistics, Wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles (NACE Rev. 2 section G), persons employed, number (sbs_ovw_act). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All EU countries, 2021

persons. Source: Eurostat, Structural business statistics, Wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles (NACE Rev. 2 section G), persons employed, number (sbs_ovw_act). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

Rank	EU countries	2021 persons	Change on 2020
1	Germany Series break	6,376,494	-2.1%
2	France Series break	3,658,304	+2.6%
3	Italy Series break	3,400,051	+1.3%
4	Spain Series break	3,080,641	-1.1%
5	Poland Series break	2,423,534	+1.6%
6	Netherlands Series break	1,598,683	+1.1%
7	Romania Series break	1,005,873	+13.1%
8	Greece Series break	800,955	+7.1%
9	Portugal Series break	798,466	-0%
10	Czechia Series break	743,391	+3.2%
11	Austria Series break	709,418	+4.9%
12	Sweden Series break	692,226	+4.3%
13	Belgium Series break	643,770	-0.5%
14	Hungary Series break	596,659	+3.7%
15	Bulgaria Series break	505,990	+1.6%
16	Denmark Series break	472,591	+0.5%
17	Ireland Series break	383,020	+2.7%
18	Slovakia Series break	324,930	-0.9%
19	Finland Series break	271,056	-6%
20	Lithuania Series break	242,871	+1.3%
21	Croatia Series break	242,631	+1.7%
22	Latvia Series break	146,998	-0.9%
23	Slovenia Series break	121,694	+0.1%
24	Estonia Series break	98,305	+3.1%
25	Cyprus Series break	73,496	+1.9%
26	Luxembourg Series break	53,752	-0.3%
27	Malta Series break	40,283	+10.4%

Other periods

About this ranking

Number of persons who work in enterprises of wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles (NACE Rev. 2 section G): 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, Wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles (NACE Rev. 2 section G), persons employed, 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, Wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles (NACE Rev. 2 section G), persons employed, number (sbs_ovw_act) (EU countries by persons employed in wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles, 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, Wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles (NACE Rev. 2 section G), persons employed, number (sbs_ovw_act), EU countries by persons employed in wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles, 2021. Eurostat, European Commission, 30 Sept. 2026, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_ovw_act/default/table. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/persons-employed-trade/eu-countries?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Eurostat, European Commission. 2026. Structural business statistics, Wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles (NACE Rev. 2 section G), persons employed, number (sbs_ovw_act). EU countries by persons employed in wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles, 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/persons-employed-trade/eu-countries?period=2021.

Harvard

Eurostat, European Commission (2026) Structural business statistics, Wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles (NACE Rev. 2 section G), persons employed, number (sbs_ovw_act), EU countries by persons employed in wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sbs_ovw_act/default/table, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/persons-employed-trade/eu-countries?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_persons_2021,
  author = {{Eurostat, European Commission}},
  title = {{Structural business statistics, Wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles (NACE Rev. 2 section G), persons employed, number (sbs\_ovw\_act): EU countries by persons employed in wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles, 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/persons-employed-trade/eu-countries?period=2021. Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Structural business statistics, Wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles (NACE Rev. 2 section G), persons employed, 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, Wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles (NACE Rev. 2 section G), persons employed, number (sbs_ovw_act): EU countries by persons employed in wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles, 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/persons-employed-trade/eu-countries?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/persons-employed-trade/eu-countries?period=2021.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Structural business statistics, Wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles (NACE Rev. 2 section G), persons employed, 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_places {"indicator":"sbs_persons_employed_trade","level":"country","within":"European Union (27)","limit":10}
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Questions

Which EU country has the highest persons employed in wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles?

Germany, with 6.38 million in 2021, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest persons employed in wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles?

Malta, with 40,283 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, Wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles (NACE Rev. 2 section G), persons employed, number (sbs_ovw_act). Retrieved 2026-10-12.