site.btaBulgaria One of Seven Exceptions in EU with More Businesses Dissolved than Opened in 2023

Bulgaria was one of seven EU countries where more businesses were dissolved than opened in 2023, Eurostat reported on Monday. Bulgaria had the third highest enterprise death rate at 16.5%, as against a 10% enterprise birth rate.

In 2023, there were over 33 million enterprises in the EU. While 3.5 million new enterprises were born that year, 2.8 million enterprise deaths were registered, based on the preliminary enterprise death data. The enterprise birth rate was 10.5%, while the rate of enterprise deaths stood at 8.5%.

In most EU countries, more companies were created than dissolved in 2023. The highest enterprise birth rates were recorded in Lithuania (19.6%), Malta (17.1%) and Portugal (16.8%). By contrast, the lowest rates were registered in Austria (6.2%), Denmark (7.3%) and Italy (7.8%).

Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Poland and Slovakia were the other countries where the death rates of enterprises were higher than the birth rates. The highest preliminary death rates of enterprises were registered in Estonia (27.5%) and Ireland (16.6%). The lowest death rates of enterprises were registered in Hungary (2.6%), Greece (3.4%) and the Netherlands (5.0%).