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.
| Total11 | SMEs11 | SME-Share11 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of enterprises | |||
| Enterprises according to business register 20202 | 3 374 583 | 3 351 274 | 99.3% |
| Enterprises liable to VAT 20203 | 3 025 145 | 3 012 040 | 99.6% |
| Enterprise turnover | |||
| Turnover of enterprises according to business register 20202 (in €) | 6 879.85 bn | 2 319.44 bn | 33.7% |
| Turnover of enterprises liable to VAT 20203 (in €) | 6 503.46 bn | 2.392.62 bn | 36.8% |
| Employees/Apprentices in enterprises and companies | |||
| Employees in enterprises according to business register 20202 | 34.93 m | 19.02 m | 54.4% |
| Employees subject to social insurance contributions in local establishments (incl. apprentices) (31.12.2020)4 | 31.69 m | 21.43 m | 67.6% |
| Apprentices in local establishments (31.12.2020)4,5 | 1.54 m | 1.09 m | 70.6% |
| Self-employed | |||
| Self-employed total 20206 | 3.57 m | ||
| thereof: Self-employed in liberal professions (01.01.2021)7 | 1.46 m | ||
| Self-employment rate 20206,8 | 8.6% | ||
| reporting: Self-employed except agriculture 20209 | 3.40 m | ||
| Self-employment rate except agriculture 20208, 9 | 8.3% | ||
| Economic Performance | |||
| Net value added of enterprises 202010 | 60.1% | ||
| Research and Development | |||
| R&D-expenses of the companies 202011 (in €) | 93.93 bn | 7.68 bn | 8.2% |
| © IfM Bonn |
Sources: Federal Statistical Office; Federal Employment Agency; Institute for Liberal Professions Nuremberg; Science statistics of the Stifterverband; Calculations by IfM Bonn, 07/2022.