Eurostat: High-growth enterprises in Bulgaria increased by 3% in 2017
The number of high-growth enterprises in Bulgaria increased by three per cent between 2016 and 2017, European Union statistics agency Eurostat said on April 2.
High-growth enterprises are defined as enterprises with an average annualised growth in the number of employees of more than 10 per cent per year over a three-year period and at least 10 employees when the growth began. High-growth enterprises play an important role in contributing to economic growth and job creation, Eurostat said.
In 2017, the number of high-growth enterprises in the EU increased by six per cent compared with 2016. According to the preliminary data for 2017, the number of high-growth enterprises in the EU was 190 000, compared with 180 000 in 2016.
These enterprises provided jobs for about 16 million employees: a year-on-year increase in employees of five per cent.
Between 2016 and 2017, the number of high-growth enterprises increased by more than the EU average in 16 EU countries.
The increase was highest in Cyprus (57 per cent); however, the absolute number of high-growth enterprises in Cyprus is relatively low (102 in 2016 and 160 in 2017).
Slovenia was in second position (20 per cent), followed by Finland (19 per cent) the Netherlands (17 per cent), Italy and Lithuania (both 16 per cent).
A decrease in the number of high-growth enterprises was recorded in five EU countries: Malta (-18 per cent), Slovakia (-8 per cent), Hungary (-3 per cent), the United Kingdom and Romania (both -2 per cent).
The number of high-growth enterprises increased in all economic sectors for which figures are available. The highest increases were in ‘construction’ (11.3 per cent) and ‘mining and quarrying’ (10.7 per cent), followed by ‘transportation and storage’ (8.6 per cent) and ‘professional, scientific and technical activities’ (8.0 per cent). The smallest increase was in ‘manufacturing’ (2.5 per cent), Eurostat said.
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