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Businesses in the EU member states 2024: Belgium compared

How many businesses there are in each EU member state, what share Belgium has and how dense businesses are per inhabitant, based on Eurostat’s harmonised figures.

Reference year 2024 · Eurostat data as of 30 September 2026 · retrieved on 4 November 2026 · by Martin Adamec

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  • 33,978,235businesses in the EU-27 (2024)
  • 2.7%of which in Belgium (931,405)
  • 75.5businesses per 1,000 inhabitants in the EU
  • 78.8businesses per 1,000 inhabitants in Belgium

All 27 member states

The table can be scrolled sideways.

Number of businesses (Eurostat indicator “Number of enterprises”, NACE B–S excluding O and S94), reference year 2024, sorted by number: Eurostat, Structural Business Statistics (sbs_ovw_act), data as of 30 September 2026, retrieved on 4 November 2026. Inhabitants on 1 January 2024: Eurostat, population on 1 January (tps00001), reference date 1 January 2024, Eurostat update of 27 October 2026. Share and values per 1,000 inhabitants calculated by basedecontacts.be.
RankMember stateBusinessesShare of EUInhabitantsper 1,000 inh.
1France5,445,57716.0%68,669,303 (provisional)79.3
2Italy4,652,41613.7%58,971,23078.9
3Spain3,516,79310.4%48,619,69572.3
4Germany3,236,2819.5%83,456,04538.8
5Poland2,821,1708.3%36,620,97077.0
6Netherlands2,424,2977.1%17,942,942135.1
7Portugal1,470,9374.3%11,204,347131.3
8Czechia1,366,9274.0%10,900,555125.4
9Romania1,030,6033.0%19,067,576 (estimated)54.1
10Greece964,8512.8%10,375,76493.0
11Belgium931,4052.7%11,817,09678.8
12Hungary905,3242.7%9,584,62794.5
13Sweden873,8782.6%10,551,70782.8
14Slovakia682,0292.0%5,424,687125.7
15Austria628,0581.8%9,158,75068.6
16Finland478,7081.4%5,603,85185.4
17Bulgaria415,0871.2%6,445,48164.4
18Ireland410,2051.2%5,351,68176.6
19Denmark379,3061.1%5,961,24963.6
20Lithuania371,2811.1%2,885,891128.7
21Croatia252,1250.7%3,861,96765.3
22Slovenia208,0780.6%2,123,94998.0
23Estonia157,5470.5%1,374,687114.6
24Latvia152,7060.4%1,878,57581.3
25Cyprus94,3790.3%966,36597.7
26Malta59,4960.2%563,443105.6
27Luxembourg48,7710.1%672,05072.6
EU-2733,978,235100.0%450,054,483 (estimated, provisional)75.5

You can request company data for countries other than Belgium on the EU and other markets page. Eurostat flags the population figure as provisional or estimated for France (provisional), Romania (estimated) and for the EU-27 total (estimated, provisional).

What the table shows

  • Four member states account for 49.6% of businesses: France (5,445,577), Italy (4,652,416), Spain (3,516,793), Germany (3,236,281).
  • Per inhabitant the range runs from 38.8 in Germany to 135.1 in the Netherlands. The highest values are in the Netherlands, Portugal, Lithuania, Slovakia, Czechia.
  • Belgium ranks 11 of 27 with 931,405 businesses and 17 with 78.8 businesses per 1,000 inhabitants (EU average 75.5). Belgium has 2.6% of the EU’s inhabitants and 2.7% of its businesses.
  • Neighbouring countries: Netherlands 2,424,297 (135.1 per 1,000 inhabitants), France 5,445,577 (79.3 per 1,000 inhabitants), Germany 3,236,281 (38.8 per 1,000 inhabitants), Luxembourg 48,771 (72.6 per 1,000 inhabitants).

Why density should be read with care

The figures are supplied by the national statistical offices, and how completely micro-businesses and the self-employed are covered may differ between member states. Differences between member states may therefore also stem from coverage and not only from economic structure. We do not infer causes from the table.

Definitions

  • Enterprise in EU business statistics: the smallest combination of legal units that makes its own decisions about its activity. For Belgium this gives 931,405; Statbel’s count of VAT-registered businesses has a different scope and is higher (see businesses by province and region).
  • Scope: NACE sections B to S excluding public administration (O) and membership organisations (S94). Agriculture, forestry and fishing (A) and private households (T) lie outside these sections and are not included.
  • Per 1,000 inhabitants: businesses divided by the population on 1 January 2024, times 1,000, rounded to one decimal place.

How to cite

The figures come from Eurostat; you may reuse them with attribution. Suggestion:

basedecontacts.be: Businesses in the EU member states 2024: Belgium compared. Based on Eurostat, sbs_ovw_act and tps00001 (data as of 30 September 2026). Retrieved on 4 November 2026. https://basedecontacts.be/en/data/entreprises-dans-l-ue/

Company data from another EU country?

For countries other than Belgium we compile data on request and tell you in advance what can be delivered from public sources.

EU and other markets · How the price is set · Businesses by province and region · Start-ups and closures