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 | KMU1 | SME-Share1 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of enterprises | |||
| Enterprises according to business register 20182 | 715 744 | 711 552 | 99.4% |
| Enterprises liable to VAT 20183 | 666 453 | 663 211 | 99.5% |
| Enterprise turnover | |||
| Turnover of enterprises liable to VAT 20183 (in €) | 1 562.26 bn | 522.74 bn | 33.5% |
| Employees/Apprentices in enterprises and companies | |||
| Employees subject to social insurance contributions in enterprises according to business register 20182 | 7.04 m | 3.75 m | 53.3% |
| Employees subject to social insurance contributions in enterprises according to business register (incl. apprentices) (31.12.2018)4 | 6.60 m | 5.17 m | 78.4% |
| Apprentices in local establishments (31.12.2018)4,5 | 348 981 | 286 967 | 82.2% |
| Self-employed | |||
| Self-employed total 20186 | 776 000 | ||
| thereof: Self-employed in liberal professions (01.01.2019)7 | 275 700 | ||
| Self-employment rate 20186, 8 | 8.9% | ||
| reporting: Self-employed except agriculture 20189 | 752 000 | ||
| Self-employment rate except agriculture 20188, 9 | 8.7% | ||
| © IfM Bonn |
Sources: Federal Statistical Office; Federal Employment Agency; Institute for Liberal Professions Nuremberg; Calculations by IfM Bonn, 05/2020.