149 678 multinational enterprise groups in EU and EFTA

In 2024, 149 678 multinational enterprise (MNE) groups were operating in the EU and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries. Of these MNE groups, 96 201 (64.3% of the total) were controlled by an EU country and 14 098 (9.4%) were controlled by an EFTA country.

Among the MNE groups controlled by EU or EFTA countries, 15 342 were controlled by Germany (13.9% of all MNE groups operating in the EU and EFTA), 13 805 by the Netherlands (12.5%) and 10 824 by Switzerland (9.8%).

Another 26.3% of MNE groups (39 379) were controlled by other countries. The 3 countries outside the EU and EFTA that controlled the most MNE groups were the United Kingdom (14 118), the United States (8 003) and China, including Hong Kong (2 135).

Source dataset: egr_mne

MNE groups employed 30% of people in the business economy

In 2024, 51.6 million people in EU and EFTA countries were employed in multinational enterprise groups, equivalent to 30% of people working in the business economy, including industry, construction and services.

Among EU and EFTA countries, the highest shares of people employed in MNE groups were registered in Luxembourg (54% of total employment), Czechia and Sweden (each 44%), Switzerland (43%), and Norway (42%). The lowest shares were in Greece (14%), Cyprus (18%), and Iceland (18%).

Source dataset: egr_emp