Cyprus has recorded one of the lowest shares of employment in multinational enterprise groups in Europe, with just 18% of workers employed in such companies, according to data published by Eurostat.
At the same time, the overall presence of multinational groups in the European Union and the European Free Trade Association countries remains strong, highlighting significant disparities among states.
The scope of the EuroGroups Register (EGR), a statistical business register created by Eurostat, defines a multinational enterprise group as an enterprise group that operates in at least 2 countries, with one of these being in the EU or the European Free Trade Association (EFTA. Among them, large-scale multinational enterprise groups are the groups employing at least 1,000 people in the EU and EFTA countries and having at least 150 people employed in each of two of these countries.
According to the data, a total of 149,678 multinational enterprise groups were operating in 2024 across the European Union and the European Free Trade Association countries. Of these, 96,201 groups were controlled by EU Member States and 14,098 by EFTA countries.
Among the countries exercising the greatest control over these groups, Germany ranks first with 15,342 groups, followed by the Netherlands with 13,805 and Switzerland with 10,824, while Cyprus is positioned roughly in the middle of the list with 3,390 groups, showing for the first time a slight recovery after a steady decline in recent years.
A significant share of multinational enterprises is also controlled by countries outside these two European frameworks. In particular, 39,379 groups are controlled by other countries, with the United Kingdom leading with 14,118, followed by the United States with 8,003 and China, including Hong Kong, with 2,135.
In terms of employment, multinational enterprises employ 51.6 million people across the EU and EFTA countries, representing 30% of total employment in the business economy, including industry, construction and services.
The highest shares of employment in multinational enterprises are recorded in Luxembourg at 54%, Czechia and Sweden at 44%, Switzerland at 43% and Norway at 42%. By contrast, the lowest shares are recorded in Greece at 14%, Cyprus at 18% and Iceland at 18%.
(Source: CNA)
