EU enterprise birth rates by country
Enterprise creation in 2023 ranged from very dynamic to very stable across the EU. The highest birth rates were in Lithuania (19.6%), Malta (17.1%) and Portugal (16.8%), while the lowest were in Austria (6.2%), Denmark (7.3%) and Italy (7.8%) — roughly a three-fold difference between the most and least dynamic markets.
Source: Eurostat — More businesses opened than dissolved in the EU in 2023 (business demography) (2023)
What it means
Business-creation rates vary roughly three-fold across the EU, with newer market economies churning far faster than established ones such as Austria and Italy. For an operator weighing where to expand or source, birth rate is a rough proxy for market dynamism — high-churn markets offer more new entrants to partner with, but also less settled competition.
Context
Eurostat reports enterprise birth rates for each member state as part of its annual business demography release, here for the 2023 reference year. Birth rate is the number of newly born enterprises as a share of the active stock. A high rate reflects an entrepreneurial, fast-turnover economy; a low rate can reflect either a mature, stable business base or barriers to entry. The figures are not adjusted for sector mix, which varies by country.
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