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 | 715 024 | 708 835 | 99.1% |
| Enterprises liable to VAT 20223 | 627 246 | 623 298 | 99.4% |
| Enterprise turnover | |||
| Turnover of enterprises liable to VAT 20223 (in €) | 2 006.48 bn | 592.59 bn | 29.5% |
| Employees/Apprentices in enterprises and companies | |||
| Employees enterprises according to business register 20222 | 8.23 m | 4.13 m | 50.1% |
| Employees subject to social insurance contributions in local establishments (31.12.2022)4 | 7.26 m | 3.40 m | 46.8% |
| Self-employed | |||
| Self-employed total 20226 | 734 000 | ||
| thereof: Self-employed in liberal professions (01.01.202237 | 284 800 | ||
| Self-employment rate 20226, 8 | 8.3% | ||
| © IfM Bonn |
Sources: Federal Statistical Office; Federal Employment Agency; Institute for Liberal Professions Nuremberg; Calculations by IfM Bonn, 07/2024.