Poland, Hungary and Slovakia’s ‘businesses birth rate’ among EU’s highest

Warsaw, Poland – Looking at the share of new businesses being created over the course of a year, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia rank among the most dynamic economies in the EU.

According to data released by Eurostat, the number of new company births in the EU as a share of all active EU enterprises stood at 9.3% on average across the bloc.

The proportion of new businesses launched over the past 12 months reached its highest level in Lithuania (19.7%) and Portugal (15.8%), closely followed by Slovakia (13.7%), Hungary (12.9%), Latvia (12.4%) and Poland (12.2%).

The Czech Republic’s enterprise birth rate of 9.1% remained slightly below EU average.

At the other end of the scope, Greece (4.5%), Belgium (6.4%) Sweden (6.6%), Austria and Germany (both 6.8%) had the lowest proportion of new companies registered compared to the total number of active businesses.

Moreover, Slovakia (+2.7 pp) and Hungary (+2.1 pp) recorded among the largest increases compared to the enterprise birth rates of 2016.

According to European Commission estimates, Central European countries, including Poland and Hungary, are poised to remain among the fastest-growing in 2020, but are expected to face an important economic slowdown compared to the GDP growth rates of the past few years.