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 20212 | 3 390 704 | 3 368 579 | 99.3% |
| Enterprises liable to VAT 20213 | 3 022 441 | 3 008 806 | 99.5% |
| Enterprise turnover | |||
| Turnover of enterprises according to business register 20212 (in €) | 7 789.76 bn | 2 439.26 bn | 31.3% |
| Turnover of enterprises liable to VAT 20213 (in €) | 7 692.33 bn | 2 516.38 bn | 32.7% |
| Employees/Apprentices in enterprises and companies | |||
| Employees in enterprises according to business register 20212 | 35.06 m | 16.08 m | 54.1% |
| Employees subject to social insurance contributions in local establishments (incl. apprentices) (31.12.2021)4 | 31.37 m | 16.08 m | 51.3% |
| Apprentices in local establishments (31.12.2021)4,5 | 1.52 m | 1.07 m | 70.3% |
| 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 202110 | 49.2% | ||
| 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.