There are large differences between countries within the EU15 in terms of the development and number of companies.
In a statement from Economic Facts in Sweden and Eurostat it appears that the EU15 average during the period 1995 - 2008 has recorded a growth of over 13 percent.
A few countries account for strong growth and it is the Netherlands, Ireland, Spain and Germany, which reported a significantly better growth than the EU15 average.
Number of companies in the EU15, the number and percentage change, 1995-2008
Number 1995 Number 2008 Increase 1995-2008
Netherlands 740 100 1 027 200 38.8%
Ireland 236 200 321 800 36.2%
Spain 2 600 100 3 276 700 26.0%
Germany 3 197 100 3 892 700 21.8%
Austria 382 200 445 900 16.7%
UK 3 192 700 3 594 900 12.6%
Italy 4 718 400 5 261 600 11.5%
Denmark 209 000 226 800 8.5%
Greece 1 198 700 1 290 100 7.6%
Finland 276 000 293 700 6.4%
France 2 480 000 2 511 400 1.3%
Belgium 569 000 559 800 - 1.6%
Sweden 437 200 420 800 - 3.8%
Portugal 974 300 914 700 - 6.1%
Luxembourg 15 600 12 400 - 20.5%
EU15 21 226 500 24 050 600 13.3%
For Sweden, the result for the period is -3.8 percent, thus a negative growth in the number of companies, and, therefore, we are far away from our Nordic friends, Denmark +8.5 percent and Finland +6.4 percent.
Cecilia Helland
Source
Economic Facts and Eurostat