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 IfM Bonn's definition of SMEs.
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 20182 | 3 483 691 | 3 466 583 | 99.5% |
| Enterprises liable to VAT 20183 | 3 279 136 | 3 265 862 | 99.6% |
| Enterprise turnover | |||
| Turnover of enterprises according to business register 20182 (in €) | 6 968.28 bn | 2 397.41 bn | 34.4% |
| Turnover of enterprises liable to VAT 20183 (in €) | 6 622.78 bn | 2 385.19 bn | 36.0% |
| Employees/Apprentices in enterprises and companies | |||
| Employees subject to social insurance contributions in enterprises according to business register 20182 | 30.86 m | 17.77 m | 57.6% |
| Employees subject to social insurance contributions in local establishments (incl. apprentices) (31.12.2018)4 | 31.39 m | 24.60 m | 78.4% |
| Apprentices in local establishments (31.12.2018)4,5 | 1.54 m | 1.26 m | 81.7% |
| Self-employed | |||
| Self-employed total 20186 | 4.01 m | ||
| thereof: Self-employed in liberal professions (01.01.2019)7 | 1.43 m | ||
| Self-employment rate 20186, 8 | 9.6% | ||
| reporting: Self-employed except agriculture 20189 | 3.82 m | ||
| Self-employment rate except agriculture 20188, 9 | 9.2% | ||
| Economic Performance | |||
| Net value added of enterprises 201810 | 61.1% | ||
| Research and Development | |||
| R&D-expenses of the companies 201811 (in €) | 92.80 bn | 10.36 bn | 11.2% |
| © IfM Bonn |
Sources: Federal Statistical Office; Federal Employment Agency; Institute for Liberal Professions Nuremberg; Science statistics of the Stifterverband; Calculations by IfM Bonn, 05/2020.