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 20232 | 723 538 | 717 160 | 99.1% |
| Enterprises liable to VAT 20233 | 633 326 | 629 349 | 99.4% |
| Enterprise turnover | |||
| Turnover of enterprises liable to VAT 20233 (in €) | 2 029.96 bn | 602.26 bn | 29.7% |
| Employees in enterprises | |||
| Employees enterprises according to business register 20232 | 8.31 m | 4.12 m | 49.6% |
| Employees subject to social insurance contributions according to business register 20232 | 7.33 m | 3.39 m | 46.2% |
| Apprentices in local establishments (31.12.2023)4, 5 | 0.35 m | 0.24 m | 69.2% |
| Self-employed | |||
| Self-employed total 20236 | 723 000 | ||
| thereof: Self-employed in liberal professions (01.01.2024)7 | 287 200 | ||
| Self-employment rate 20236, 8 | 8.1% | ||
| © IfM Bonn |
Sources: Federal Statistical Office; Federal Employment Agency; Institute for Liberal Professions Nuremberg; Calculations by IfM Bonn, 09/2025.