Manufacturing enterprises in the EU by country and NACE division (2024 data)

The table shows NACE Section C (all manufacturing) for each EU country, ordered by number of enterprises. Size classes count persons employed. Local units are sites, explained below. Investment is rounded to the nearest million euro here; the CSV keeps two decimals. "(e)" marks a Eurostat estimate.[1][2][5]

No other Section C country total in this table is flagged. The CSV does not include local units, because they come from a separate regional dataset.[5]

An enterprise is the statistical unit Eurostat counts in the national tables: broadly, a business producing goods or services with some autonomy over its decisions. It is not a plant. A manufacturer with five factories in one country counts once there.[1]

Eurostat's regional business statistics use a second unit, the local unit: an enterprise, or part of one, at a geographically identified place.[5] That is much closer to what a supplier of equipment or maintenance services means by a site. The gap between the two counts varies a lot by country:

• Sweden had 45,810 manufacturing enterprises but 65,084 local units, about 1.4 sites per enterprise.
• Italy had 393,575 local units (an estimate) against 347,845 enterprises, and Germany 220,581 against 198,560.
• Ireland and Malta had almost the same number of each: 19,618 local units against 19,617 enterprises in Ireland, and 3,121 of each in Malta.
• Romania had fewer local units (58,159) than enterprises (76,284). The two datasets are compiled separately, so treat them as consistent within a country over time rather than as an exact ratio.[1][5]

Local units are also published by NUTS 1 and NUTS 2 region, which lets you compare, for example, German Länder or Spanish autonomous communities instead of whole countries.[5] They aren't published for the EU as a whole.

The EU-27 manufacturing enterprise count rose each year: 2,119,953 in 2021, 2,152,065 in 2022, 2,168,169 in 2023 and 2,180,638 in 2024.[1] The rise is almost all small firms. The number with 50–249 persons employed fell from 63,137 in 2023 to 61,752 in 2024, and those with 250 or more from 16,380 to 15,975.[2]

Country changes between 2023 and 2024 go both ways. France rose from 266,065 to 279,540 enterprises; Belgium fell from 42,355 to 37,583; Germany fell from 201,177 to 198,560, and its count of enterprises with 250 or more people fell from 4,806 to 4,415.[1][2] Before you read a change as growth or decline, check whether Eurostat has flagged a break or estimate for that country in the CSV.

The headline count is driven by very small firms. Of the EU's 2,180,638 manufacturing enterprises in 2024, 326,915 employed ten or more people, which is the sum of the four published size classes from 10–19 upwards.[2] Eurostat's own overview of the sector puts manufacturing at 6.5% of all enterprises in the EU business economy in 2023, close to 2.2 million, employing around 30.2 million persons and generating 23.1% of the business economy's value added. That article was extracted in December 2025, before the 2024 figures were released.[4]

Poland and France each have more manufacturing enterprises than Germany, but Germany has almost three times as many with 250 or more people as either.

Value added gives a different picture of size. EU manufacturing value added at factor cost was EUR 2.51 trillion in 2024, about EUR 84,000 per person employed. Germany's was about EUR 96,000 per person and Poland's about EUR 43,000. Ireland's was about EUR 642,000, an outlier, so don't use it on its own to size demand for plant and equipment in Ireland.[1]

That matters if you sell equipment or services to sites:

• The count sizes a market; it doesn't list one. The dataset has no company names, sites or contacts.
• Size classes beat totals. For most industrial suppliers, the 50–249 and 250-plus columns are closer to the number of realistic accounts than the headline figure.
• Local units beat enterprises for site-based offers. If you sell per plant, the local-unit count and its regional split are the better starting point.
• Investment is a spending signal, not a budget. Gross investment in machinery and equipment shows where manufacturers spent on plant in 2024. It doesn't show who will buy next year.

For a site-level list, combine statistics with registers. Our guides to Irish manufacturer research, UK manufacturer research and European chemical manufacturer research show how.

At EU level, the most numerous manufacturing divisions in 2024 were fabricated metal products (C25, 412,787 enterprises), food products (C10, 273,223) and repair and installation of machinery and equipment (C33, 234,011). Machinery and equipment n.e.c. (C28) had 77,416 enterprises and chemicals (C20) had 31,749.[1]

Some EU division figures are Eurostat estimates, and the rounded ones show it: pharmaceuticals (C21) is published as 4,000 enterprises, and C28's 250-plus count as 2,000. Check the eurostat_flags column before quoting any division figure.[1][2]

Every row in the CSV has an eurostat_flags column naming the cells Eurostat flagged.[1][2]

• C (confidential). Eurostat withheld the value, usually because it would reveal data about individual businesses. The cell is empty.
• e (estimated). Eurostat published an estimate. The cell has the value.
• Empty with no flag. No value was published.

Ireland has more gaps than most countries. Its 2024 enterprise totals are confidential for printing (C18), coke and refined petroleum (C19), pharmaceuticals (C21) and electronics (C26), and many more size-class, turnover and investment cells are withheld, including in beverages (C11), basic metals (C24) and furniture (C31).[1][2] Ireland's Central Statistics Office publishes its own enterprise counts, which can fill some of these gaps; see our Irish manufacturing account research guide.

The UK is not in the dataset. Eurostat no longer publishes structural business statistics for the UK. For UK numbers, use national sources such as the Office for National Statistics and Companies House; our UK SIC codes for manufacturing page covers the register side.

One value is negative. Eurostat published a negative machinery investment figure for Finland's rubber and plastic products (C22) for 2024: −6.77 (EUR million). The CSV keeps it exactly as published, as a plain number with no formula characters, and the full table footnote marks it.

• ☐ Pick the NACE divisions that match your buyers, not just Section C. Water, energy and waste (D35, E36–E39) are in the file too.
• ☐ Filter to the size classes your offer fits, and note any flagged cells.
• ☐ If you sell per site, check local units for the countries on your shortlist, and their NUTS 2 regions.
• ☐ Compare countries on the same measure. Don't mix enterprise counts with persons employed or local units.
• ☐ Quote the source and the year. The figures describe 2024.
• ☐ Turn the shortlist of countries and divisions into a site-level brief. Our markets page shows where Demand Range researches accounts.

How many manufacturing companies are there in the EU?

Eurostat counted 2,180,638 manufacturing enterprises in the EU-27 in 2024.[1] Most are small; 326,915 employed ten or more people.[2]

Which EU country has the most manufacturing enterprises?

Italy, with 347,845 in 2024, followed by France (279,540), Poland (241,804) and Germany (198,560).[1] Germany has the most large ones: 4,415 enterprises with 250 or more persons employed.[2]

How many manufacturing enterprises does Ireland have?

Eurostat's 2024 figure is 19,617, of which 196 employed 250 or more people.[1][2] Ireland's Central Statistics Office publishes its own national counts, so use the matching source and year when you compare.

How many manufacturing sites are there in each country?

Eurostat's regional statistics count local units, which are closer to sites. In 2024 Germany had 220,581 manufacturing local units, France 328,137 and Ireland 19,618.[5]

Why are some cells empty?

Eurostat marks values as confidential when publishing them could identify individual businesses. Ireland, with relatively few large firms in some divisions, has several. The flags column says which cells are affected.[1]

Can I reuse the data?

Yes. Eurostat allows free reuse of its statistical data, including commercially, as long as the source is acknowledged.[3] Credit it as: Source: Eurostat, Structural Business Statistics (sbs_ovw_act, sbs_sc_ovw), 2024 data, extracted 27 Oct 2026. Reshaped by Demand Range; values unchanged.

Statistics tell you which markets are worth the effort. Demand Range turns that choice into a researched account list across Ireland, the UK and the EU, with the site, the activity evidence and the reason each account fits. See industrial lead research, request a quote or email partners@demandrange.com.

Every row of the CSV, for all 31 activities: mining (B), manufacturing (C and each division C10–C33), energy supply (D35) and water, sewerage and waste (E36–E39).[1][2] Pick a country or a sector from the index to jump to its rows. The EU-27 aggregate comes first, then the 27 member states in Eurostat’s order. On a phone, scroll each table sideways.

Columns, in order: enterprises total; 10–19; 20–49; 50–249; 250+ (enterprises by persons employed); persons employed; net turnover (EUR m); machinery and equipment investment (EUR m); Eurostat flags.

A blank cell means Eurostat withheld (C, confidential) or didn’t publish the value. “e” means Eurostat estimate. The flags column names each flagged column, for example “250+: C”.

How many food manufacturers with 50+ staff are there in Ireland? Go to Ireland → C10: 155 + 52 = 207.

858 of the 868 rows have an enterprise total and 771 have a machinery-investment value. 461 cells are flagged C and 115 are flagged e. The values here are the same as in the CSV download; the page adds thousands separators and a typographic minus for reading.

Jump to a country

• EU-27 aggregate
• Belgium
• Bulgaria
• Czechia
• Denmark
• Germany
• Estonia
• Ireland
• Greece
• Spain
• France
• Croatia
• Italy
• Cyprus
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Hungary
• Malta
• Netherlands
• Austria
• Poland
• Portugal
• Romania
• Slovenia
• Slovakia
• Finland
• Sweden

Jump to a sector (EU-27 rows)

• B Mining and quarrying
• C Manufacturing
• C10 Manufacture of food products
• C11 Manufacture of beverages
• C12 Manufacture of tobacco products
• C13 Manufacture of textiles
• C14 Manufacture of wearing apparel
• C15 Manufacture of leather and related products
• C16 Manufacture of wood and of products of wood and cork, except furniture; manufacture of articles of straw and plaiting materials
• C17 Manufacture of paper and paper products
• C18 Printing and reproduction of recorded media
• C19 Manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products
• C20 Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products
• C21 Manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations
• C22 Manufacture of rubber and plastic products
• C23 Manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products
• C24 Manufacture of basic metals
• C25 Manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment
• C26 Manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products
• C27 Manufacture of electrical equipment
• C28 Manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c.
• C29 Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers
• C30 Manufacture of other transport equipment
• C31 Manufacture of furniture
• C32 Other manufacturing
• C33 Repair and installation of machinery and equipment
• D35 Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply
• E36 Water collection, treatment and supply
• E37 Sewerage
• E38 Waste collection, treatment and disposal activities; materials recovery
• E39 Remediation activities and other waste management services

EU-27 aggregate

Belgium (BE)

Bulgaria (BG)

Czechia (CZ)

Denmark (DK)

Germany (DE)

Estonia (EE)

Ireland (IE)

Greece (EL)

Spain (ES)

France (FR)

Croatia (HR)

Italy (IT)

Cyprus (CY)

Latvia (LV)

Lithuania (LT)

Luxembourg (LU)

Hungary (HU)

Malta (MT)

Netherlands (NL)

Austria (AT)

Poland (PL)

Portugal (PT)

Romania (RO)

Slovenia (SI)

Slovakia (SK)

Finland (FI)

Sweden (SE)

1 Finland, C22 Manufacture of rubber and plastic products, gross investment in machinery and equipment: value as published by Eurostat (−6.77). Negative values can arise from national reporting adjustments; Eurostat publishes it without a flag.