In 2021, the number of companies in the health and social care sector in the EU will reach 2.3 million, representing 7.4% of all companies active in the EU business economy. The health and social care sector includes enterprises included in section Q of the Statistical Classification of Economic Activities of the European Community (NACE).
Following the entry into force of the European Business Statistics (EBS) Regulation, Eurostat will expand its Structural Business Statistics (SBS) coverage and publish SBS data on companies in the healthcare and social work sectors for the first time.
In 2021, the health and social services sector employed 13.1 million people, generated added value of €579.5 billion and recorded cumulative net sales of €887.1 billion.
Source dataset: sbs_ovw_act
The contribution of the health and social care sector to the added value of the business economy varies from country to country. In the EU, the average was 6.2%. The highest levels were 9.7% in Germany, 8.8% in the Netherlands and 8.3% in Belgium. Hungary (1.5%), Croatia (1.6%) and Ireland (1.8%) were at the lower end of the scale.
In terms of employment, the sector's contribution to the business economy averaged 8.4% within the EU. The Netherlands (18.8%), Germany (14.7%) and Belgium (14.3%) were at the top of this rating. Meanwhile, Romania (2.1%), Croatia (2.3%) and Hungary (2.5%) were at the bottom.
