Small Businesses in Europe - Facts and Figures

Although Bytestart is aimed purely at UK-based small business people, we have taken a brief look at the massive contribution SME's make to the EU economy as a whole.

Size of EU Businesses

The EU defines SME's as having less than 250 employees, with a turnover of up to 50m Euros. Despite what many of us may imagine, 99% of all EU business are SME's.

• 91% of all EU businesses have 1-9 employees ("Micro")
• 7% have 10-49 employees
• 1% have 50-250 employees
• 1% are defined as "large enterprises"

European SME's - Key Stats

• 23 million enterprises
• 75 million jobs
• 99% of all European enterprises
• account for more than 80% of employment in some industrial sectors such as textiles, construction and furniture

The figures vary between countries - with 57% of Greeks being employed by "micro businesses" (firms with 1-9 employees). In the UK, by contrast, over 45% are employed by "large enterprises".

Although the UK has a lot of big corporate employers, we are also a nation of "shopkeepers" - at the start of 2004, there were over 3m sole traders in the UK with an estimated turnover of £190 billion (Source: SME Stats - DTI Release - August 2005)

You can read more about SME's in Europe, and EU policy here.