Overview - Mittelstand
Small and medium-sized enterprises are the engine of the German economy. This is illustrated by statistical data on the macro-economic significance of SMEs and by SME key indicators for Germany and North Rhine-Westphalia (cf. the table below). The following data are based on SME definition by the European Commission.
Please note that we currently provide only a selection of the most important statistics on our English website.
For further statistics, please refer to our German section.
| Total1 | SMEs1 | SME-Share1 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of enterprises | |||
| Enterprises according to business register 20222 | 3 435 478 | 3 409 661 | 99.2% |
| Enterprises liable to VAT 20223 | 3 102 699 | 3 086 496 | 99.5% |
| Enterprise turnover | |||
| Turnover of enterprises according to business register 20222 (in €) | 9 774.52 bn | 2 664.05 bn | 27.3% |
| Turnover of enterprises liable to VAT 20223 (in €) | 8 874.52 bn | 2 741.15 bn | 30.9% |
| Employees/Apprentices in enterprises and companies | |||
| Employees in enterprises according to business register 20222 | 36.65 m | 19.12 m | 53.6% |
| Employees subject to social insurance contributions in local establishments (incl. apprentices) (31.12.2022)4 | 31.93 m | 16.19 m | 50.7% |
| Apprentices in local establishments (31.12.2022)4,5 | 1.49 m | 1.04 m | 70.0% |
| Self-employed | |||
| Self-employed total 20226 | 3.63 m | ||
| thereof: Self-employed in liberal professions (01.01.2023)7 | 1.47 m | ||
| Self-employment rate 20226,8 | 8.5% | ||
| reporting: Self-employed except agriculture 20229 | 3.47 m | ||
| Self-employment rate except agriculture 20228, 9 | 8.3% | ||
| Economic Performance | |||
| Net value added of enterprises 202210 | 55.7% | ||
| Research and Development | |||
| R&D-expenses of the companies 202211 (in €) | 109.46 bn | 8.55 bn | 7.8% |
| © IfM Bonn |
Sources: Federal Statistical Office; Federal Employment Agency; Institute for Liberal Professions Nuremberg; Science statistics of the Stifterverband; Calculations by IfM Bonn, 07/2024.