The number of employees has rebounded more quickly than the self-employed
The self-employed are more likely than employees to report financial difficulties
Up to 60% of entrepreneurs have reduced expectations for business growth
Self-employment are under-represented in teleworkable sectors
Some entrepreneurs report that COVID-19 has created opportunities for their business
Self-employment levels vary more within some countries than across EU Member States
The majority of policy measures for the self-employed aimed to keep the business afloat
Early-stage entrepreneurship rates vary across population groups
The number of “missing” entrepreneurs represent 52% of all early-stage entrepreneurs in the EU
The majority of the “missing” entrepreneurs are women and those over 50 years old
Female-led businesses were more likely to close during the COVID-19 pandemic
Policy frameworks for women’s entrepreneurship are shared across national and sub-national governments
Women’s entrepreneurship schemes vary in quality across EU Member States
The gender gap in self-employment has closed slightly since 2002
The gender gap in self-employment closed in 80% of Member States over the past decade
Less than one-quarter of self-employed women in the EU have employees
The gender gap in employer rates increased in about half of EU Member States since 2011
Self-employed women with employees tend to be older than those without
The share of self-employed in the EU with a tertiary education is increasing faster than for men
Self-employed women are more likely to have a tertiary education than self-employed men
Average weekly hours are declining for the self-employed
Self-employed women work slightly more hours a week than those who work as employees
Self-employed women are as likely as men to have autonomy over their working time
There earnings gap between full-time self-employed men and women is negligible
Self-employed women earn less than those working as employees in most EU Member States
Women are more likely to be self-employed than men in the Other service activities sector
More than half of self-employed women are professionals and service and sales workers
There is a gender gap in early-stage entrepreneurship across all EU Member States
Women are more likely to be “necessity” entrepreneurs in countries with high unemployment and informality rates
Fewer than one-in-six women entrepreneurs started the business in a team
Women are half as likely as men to be established business owners
Most entrepreneurs, whether women or men, exit their business because it is not profitable
Nearly 50% of women report that fear of failure is a barrier to business creation
Female entrepreneurs continue to have greater difficulties accessing finance sought
About four-in-ten women report that they have the skills needed to start a business
Nearly one-third of women entrepreneurs report introducing a new product or service
About four-in-ten women entrepreneurs report having customers in other countries
Few women entrepreneurs in the EU expect high growth
Policy objectives for immigrant entrepreneurship support are often not well defined across EU Member States
Immigrant entrepreneurship schemes less developed than for other target groups
Immigrants are less likely to be self-employed than non-immigrants in the EU
The gender gap in self-employment has changed little but immigrant women are now as likely as their non-immigrant peers to be self-employed
Self-employment rates for immigrants vary greatly across countries
Most immigrant settlement services do not support entrepreneurship due to other priorities and a lack of funding
Immigrants account for a growing share of the self-employed
Immigrants from outside the EU account for the majority of self-employed immigrants in nearly all EU Member States
Nearly one-third of self-employed immigrants in the EU are employers
One-quarter of self-employed immigrant women are employers
Self-employed immigrants are less likely to be employers in the majority of EU Member States
Self-employment rates by sector vary little by place of birth
Solo self-employed immigrants are over-represented in professional occupations
Youth entrepreneurship policy benefited from investments following the financial crisis
Youth entrepreneurship schemes widely available and use a range of instruments
About 7% of working youth in the EU are self-employed
Youth self-employment rates tend to be correlated with overall self-employment rates
One-in-six self-employed youth employ others
Less than one-fifth of self-employed youth have employees in nearly all EU Member States
Youth are more likely than adults to be self-employed in household activities
Nearly one-quarter of self-employed youth are working in professional occupations
The share of self-employed in the EU with a tertiary education has plateaued in recent years
Youth in the EU are slightly more likely than adults to be involved in early-stage entrepreneurship
Youth are less likely to be motivated by necessity across nearly all EU Member States
One-fifth of youth nascent entrepreneurs start their business in teams
Only 2% of youth in the EU own an established business
Youth entrepreneurs are most likely to exit due to a lack of profitability
About 4 in 10 youth report that “fear of failure” is a barrier to business creation
Youth are less likely than adults to self-report having entrepreneurship skills
More than half the students surveyed in EU and OECD countries had received entrepreneurship education during their studies
About one-third of youth entrepreneurs introduced new products and services
About 56% of youth entrepreneurs in the EU export their products and services
About 11% of youth entrepreneurs expect to achieve high growth
Few EU governments use entrepreneurship as part of their active aging policies
Senior entrepreneurs have less access to tailored support than other target groups
Self-employment for seniors increases with age but has declined over time
Self-employment rates for seniors vary by country
The share of seniors with employees increased most among those over 65 years old
The share of self-employed seniors varied across EU Member States
More than 60% of seniors working in Agriculture, forestry and fishing in the EU are self-employed
One-fifth of self-employed seniors are professionals
Self-employed seniors with employees are more likely to have a tertiary education than those without employees
Early-stage entrepreneurship varies by country
Nearly one-quarter of seniors started businesses out of necessity in the EU
Around one-fifth of seniors started a business in a team
Nearly 9% of seniors in the EU are owners of an established business
One-quarter of seniors who stopped their business were more likely to cite lack of profit over retirement
Nearly 45% of seniors report a fear of failure as a barrier to business creation
Seniors in the EU are as likely as the overall average to report having the skills to start a business
Nearly a third of early-stage senior entrepreneurs offered new products or services
Nearly half of early-stage senior entrepreneurs sold to foreign customers
Nearly 10% of early-stage senior entrepreneurs expected to create 19 or more jobs in the next five years
Unemployment among youth rose sharply after financial crises
Governments in the EU commonly offer schemes to support the unemployed in business creation
Entrepreneurship schemes for the unemployed focus on building skills and offering finance
Few unemployed people seek self-employment
Unemployed seeking self-employment varies by EU Member State
Recently unemployed people are most likely to try to become self-employed
More unemployed people become self-employed than those seeking it
Women and rural populations are the most frequently served client groups
There is substantial unmet demand for microfinance in the EU
Entrepreneurship and self-employment data for Austria
Entrepreneurship and self-employment data for Belgium
Entrepreneurship and self-employment data for Bulgaria
Entrepreneurship and self-employment data for Croatia
Entrepreneurship and self-employment data for Cyprus
Entrepreneurship and self-employment data for the Czech Republic
Entrepreneurship and self-employment data for Denmark
Entrepreneurship and self-employment data for Estonia
Entrepreneurship and self-employment data for Finland
Entrepreneurship and self-employment data for France
Entrepreneurship and self-employment data for Germany
Entrepreneurship and self-employment data for Greece
Entrepreneurship and self-employment in Hungary
Entrepreneurship and self-employment in Ireland
Entrepreneurship and self-employment in Italy
Entrepreneurship and self-employment in Latvia
Entrepreneurship and self-employment in Lithuania
Entrepreneurship and self-employment in Luxembourg
Entrepreneurship and self-employment in Malta
Entrepreneurship and self-employment in the Netherlands
Entrepreneurship and self-employment in Poland
Entrepreneurship and self-employment in Portugal
Entrepreneurship and self-employment in Romania
Entrepreneurship and self-employment in the Slovak Republic
Entrepreneurship and self-employment in Slovenia
Entrepreneurship and self-employment in Spain
Entrepreneurship and self-employment in Sweden