Culture statistics - cultural enterprises

Data extracted in March 2023.

Planned article update: March 2024.

Highlights

In 2020, 1.2 million cultural enterprises in the EU generated around €147 billion value added.

In 2020, a quarter of the cultural enterprises in the EU were related to architectural activities.

Most cultural enterprises in the EU did not survive five years, 2020 data reveals.

Share of cultural enterprises in the total number of enterprises in the non-financial business economy, 2020

This article features in the online publication Culture statistics. It presents information covering businesses active within the cultural sector. Eurostat compiles these data from two distinct sources:

Both of these sources are restricted to market-oriented activities.

Full article

Defining the cultural sector

This article presents information about a group of cultural activities, the definition of which was agreed upon by Eurostat's expert group on culture statistics. For both SBS and BD data, the cultural sector is specified as covering numerous economic activities, under the statistical classification of economic activities in the European Community — NACE.

For data availability reasons, the list of activities used to define the cultural sector aggregate varies according to which data source is being used.

Firstly, for 2020 the SBS do not cover two important cultural NACE divisions, 90 (creative, arts and entertainment activities) and 91 (libraries, archives, museums and other cultural activities), which will be available from 2021 data update due to the implementation of the new business statistics regulation 2019/2152.

Furthermore, while information for NACE division 18 (printing and reproduction of recorded media) comes under the cultural sector within SBS, this is not the case for business demography (where there is no information available for manufacturing activities).

Equally, within the main series of SBS, the aggregate for the cultural sector includes data for NACE divisions, NACE groups and NACE classes. By contrast, the aggregate for SBS by business size-class comprises a restricted number of activities (only NACE divisions and NACE groups).

Further details on activities included within the cultural sector for each source of data is provided in Table 1.

Table 1: Cultural activities covered by the EU's structural business statistics and business demography statistics
Source: Eurostat (Guide to Eurostat culture statistics — 2018 edition)

Who produces cultural goods in the EU?

SBS describe the structure, conduct and performance of businesses within the non-financial business economy (NACE sections B to J and L to N and Division 95). The data presented for the cultural sector aggregate cover 18 different economic activities (at different levels of NACE) – see Table 1 for the composition of this aggregate for the main series of SBS.

In 2020, 1.2 million cultural enterprises in the EU generated around €147 billion value added.

In 2020, there were 1.2 million cultural enterprises in the EU (as identified for SBS; without NACE divisions 90 and 91). Together, they represented 5.2 % of all businesses within the non-financial business economy. The value added at factor cost of cultural enterprises was around €147 billion, equal to 2.3 % of the non-financial business economy total (see Table 2). For comparison, the value added of the cultural sector within the EU was slightly higher than that of the motor trade sector (NACE division 45; € 145 billion). The cultural sector's turnover (the total value of market sales of goods and services) was € 363 billion, equal to 1.5 % of the total turnover generated within the EU's non-financial business economy.

Table 2 highlights the cultural sector's relative importance (as measured by its share within the non-financial business economy). Based on the number of businesses, the share was particularly high in the Netherlands (8.3 %) and Sweden (8.0 %). By contrast, cultural enterprises accounted for less than 5 % of businesses in the non-financial business economies in 13 EU Member States, with the lowest share recorded in Slovakia at 3.0 %.

The highest value added generated by cultural enterprises as a share of the national non-financial business economy were recorded in Cyprus (7.3 %) and Malta (3.3 %). The highest shares in turnover for cultural enterprises were recorded for the same countries, accounting respectively for 6.3 % and 2.3 % of total turnover in the non-financial business economy.

Table 2: Main indicators for cultural enterprises, 2020.
Source: Eurostat (cult_ent_num), (cult_ent_val) and (sbs_na_sca_r2)

In 2020, Italy had the largest number of cultural enterprises in the EU (14.8 %). Half of all cultural enterprises in the EU (49.8 %) were located in four EU Member States: Italy, France, Spain, and Germany.

In that year, the highest share of value added generated by cultural enterprises in the EU was recorded for Germany (30.2 % of the EU total), followed by France (18.6 %) and Italy (10.1 %). Together, these three countries accounted for 58.9 % of the total value added generated by the EU's cultural sector in 2020. The same three countries also had the most significant shares of the EU's cultural sector in terms of turnover, collectively accounting for 56.5 %.

Figure 1: EU Member States' shares in the EU total for main indicators concerning the cultural sector, 2020.
(%, share of EU total)
Source: Eurostat (cult_ent_num) and (cult_ent_val)

In 2020, value added and turnover generated by the cultural sector saw a sharper decrease than the non-financial business economy.

2020 was characterised by the COVID-19 pandemic. The impact of the pandemic was felt across the entire economy, but certain activities, including culture, saw a sharper decline in these economic indicators.

Table 3 shows the rate of change between 2019 and 2020 for the three indicators analysed so far (number of enterprises, value added and turnover) in the cultural sector and the non-financial business economy. At EU level, the number of enterprises rose slightly in both sectors. This reflects policies implemented across Europe aimed at helping businesses get through the pandemic.

By contrast, the two financial indicators (value added and turnover) fell significantly in 2020. The sharpest falls in value added in the cultural sector were recorded in Belgium (-15 %), Italy (12.9 %), Spain (-12 %) and Hungary (-10 %), while only seven EU Member States recorded an increase in value added. Meanwhile, only Cyprus and Malta recorded an increase in turnover in the cultural sector. Most EU Member States saw a decrease in turnover, with negative values ranging from -3.2 % in Denmark to -14.7 % in Slovenia.

Table 3: Change in the number of enterprises, value added at factor cost and turnover, 2019-2020
(%, annual rate of change)
Source: Eurostat (cult_ent_num), (cult_ent_val) and (sbs_na_sca_r2)

Number of enterprises and value added by category of product
The 18 different economic activities that together form the total cultural aggregate – 'enterprises in the cultural sector' or 'cultural enterprises' – were grouped into the following broad headings:

'printing and reproduction of recorded media; manufacture of musical instruments and jewellery' (manufacturing-related cultural activities) — NACE division 18, NACE class 32.12 and NACE group 32.2;
'retail sale in specialised stores' (books; newspapers and stationery; music and video recordings) — NACE classes 47.61, 47.62 and 47.63;
'publishing' (books; newspapers; journals and periodicals; computer games) — NACE classes 58.11, 58.13, 58.14 and 58.21;
'motion picture and television, music; renting of video tapes and discs' — NACE division 59 and NACE class 77.22;
'programming and broadcasting; news agency activities' — NACE division 60 and NACE class 63.91;
'architectural activities' — NACE class 71.11;
'specialised design activities' — NACE group 74.1;
'photographic activities' — NACE group 74.2;
'translation and interpretation activities' — NACE group 74.3.

In 2020, a quarter of all cultural enterprises were involved in architectural activities.

Of all cultural enterprises operating in the EU in 2020, the largest number was involved in 'architectural activities' (25.0 %). In addition, other four broad headings accounted for a double-digit share in the total number of cultural enterprises (see Figure 2):

'specialised design activities' (18.2 %)
'motion picture and television, music; renting of video tapes and discs' (12.4 %)
'photographic activities' (12.0 %)
'printing and reproduction of recorded media; manufacture of musical instruments and jewellery' (manufacturing-related cultural activities) (10.9 %).

Figure 2: Number of cultural enterprises, by broad heading, EU, 2020
(% share of total)
Source: Eurostat (cult_ent_num)

The value added generated by activities falling under the broad headings of the cultural sector does not correlate with the number of businesses operating within them.

In 2020, the largest share in total value added generated by the EU's cultural sector comprised businesses involved in 'publishing' (books; newspapers; journals and periodicals; computer games) (18.8 %). As shown in the Figure 3, these activities were followed by:

'programming and broadcasting; news agency activities' (17.0 %)
'architectural activities' (15.8 %)
'motion picture and television, music; renting of video tapes and discs' (13.0 %).

Among all activities that fall under the broad headings of the cultural sector, the most effective in terms of generating value added were 'programming and broadcasting; news agency activities', where a small number of businesses (6 820, 0.6 % of total number in the cultural sector) generated 17.0 % of the sector's total value added in the EU in 2020 (€25 billion).

In turn, the least effective in generating value added were 'photographic activities', where 146 684 businesses (12.0 % of the total number in the cultural sector) generated 2.0 % of the cultural sector's total value added (€3 billion).

Figure 3: Value added at factor cost for the cultural sector, by broad heading, EU, 2020
(% share of total)
Source: Eurostat (cult_ent_val)

The data at country level show that in 2020, 'architectural activities' led with the largest share in the number of cultural enterprises in 14 EU Member States (headed by Greece, where it amounted to 38.7 % of all cultural enterprises). 'Specialised design activities' was the largest group of business activities in the cultural sector in seven EU Member States, led by the Netherlands, where it comprised 34.8 % of all cultural enterprises. In addition, cultural enterprises involved in activities under the heading 'motion picture and television, music; renting of video tapes and discs' were the most numerous in Sweden (26 %) and Hungary (22.4 %); cultural enterprises involved in photographic activities were the most numerous in Lithuania (23.7 %), and those providing translation and interpretation were most numerous in Latvia (22.1 %, see Figure 4).

Figure 4: Number of cultural enterprises, by broad heading, 2020
(%)
Source: Eurostat (cult_ent_num)

Figure 5 shows a similar analysis for broad cultural headings based on value added generated by the national cultural sectors. In 2020, 9 of the 25 EU Member States for which data were available recorded the highest share of value added for manufacturing-related cultural activities ('printing and reproduction of recorded media; manufacture of musical instruments and jewellery'). For this branch, the national share peaked at 40.9 % in Malta.

Five EU Member States (headed by Cyprus, 78.1 %) recorded the highest share of its value added generated by the cultural sector for 'publishing (books; newspapers; journals and periodicals; computer games)'. Five EU Member States – Greece (31.8 %), Poland (31.6 %), Romania (28.4 %), France (26.6 %) and Spain (19 %) – recorded such shares in 'programming and broadcasting; news agency activities'. Three EU Member States – Austria (29.7 %), Slovakia (25.2 %) and Belgium (15.1 %) – recorded such shares in 'architectural activities'.

Figure 5: Value added at factor cost for the cultural sector, by broad heading, 2020
(%)
Source: Eurostat (cult_ent_val)

How big are the enterprises in the cultural sector?

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are essential to the EU's economy. Driving job creation and economic growth, they play a prominent role in EU policy developments. SMEs (businesses with less than 250 people employed) tend to dominate in several branches of the EU's cultural sector.

Table 4 shows the indicators presented above further broken down by business size-class (defined by the number of people employed).

In 2020, SMEs employed a high proportion of the EU's cultural workers in a wide range of activities: (i) 97.8 % in specialised design activities; (ii) 95.0 % in translation and interpretation activities and (iii) 86.7 % in manufacturing of musical instruments. Most of the EU workers in specialised design activities (80.8 %) and in translation and interpretation activities (80.2 %) were employed by micro enterprises (with less than 10 people employed).

Additionally, in 2020 the value added of the EU's cultural sector was mainly generated by SMEs. This is shown in all the branches for which data are available, except for 'programming and broadcasting activities', where large companies generated 87.2 % of value added.
Note: in this section, the aggregate used for cultural activities differs from that used above for the main series of SBS (see Table 1 at the beginning of this article).

Table showing main indicators for selected cultural activities by enterprises size class in the EU for the year 2020.

Table 4: Main indicators for selected cultural activities, by enterprise size class, EU, 2020
Source: Eurostat (sbs_sc_sca_r2) and (sbs_sc_1b_se_r2)

How long do cultural enterprises stay in the market?

Business demography statistics include indicators such as enterprise birth rates, enterprise death rates and enterprise survival rates. This information is used to analyse demographic trends, reflecting the dynamism and adaptation of economic structures to changing market conditions (the definitions of birth, death and survival rates are available below in the 'data sources' section of the article).

For the purpose of analysing cultural activities, business demography statistics are only compiled for a small subset of activities within the service sector (see Table 1 for a complete list), including two NACE divisions that are not covered by SBS, namely, 'creative, arts and entertainment activities' (division 90) and 'libraries, archives, museums and other cultural activities' (division 91).

For specialised design activities, newly born enterprises accounted for almost one-sixth of the enterprise population.

Figure 6 provides a summary of enterprise birth and death rates for a selection of cultural activities. In 2020, the EU enterprise birth rate was 9.0 % for services within the business economy (NACE sections G to N, excluding group 64.2: activities of holding companies). Three out of the seven selected cultural activities, reported an enterprise birth rate higher than the average of all services in the business economy. The highest enterprise birth rate was recorded for 'specialised design activities' (14.4 %) (data not available for 'renting of video tapes and disks').

At the same time, the EU enterprise death rate for services in the business economy was 7.7 %, 1.3 percentage points (pp) lower than the enterprise birth rate. Four of the seven listed cultural activities recorded higher enterprise death rates than the average of services within the business economy. The highest value in the cultural sector was recorded for 'renting of video tapes and disks' (12.7 %). The lowest enterprise death rate among cultural activities belonged to 'motion picture, video and television programme production, sound recording and music publishing activities' (6.6 %).

Among activities for which data are available, 'architectural activities' and 'translation and interpretation activities' were those where the death rate was higher than the birth rate.

Figure 6: Enterprise birth and death rates for selected cultural activities, EU, 2020
(%)
Source: Eurostat (bd_9bd_sz_cl_r2)

In 2020, the employment share of newly born enterprises for 'specialised design activities' was higher than the average of all services in the business economy in each of the EU Member States for which data are available (a comparison is not available for Ireland and Greece), with the highest value recorded in Malta (20.8 %). In addition, in Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Denmark and Croatia, this share was over five times higher than the average of all services in the business economy.

Regarding 'creative, arts and entertainment activities', the employment share for newly founded businesses was higher than the average of services in the business economy in each of the 19 countries with available data, with the highest value recorded in Latvia (18.0 %).

Figure 7: Employment share of newly born enterprises for selected cultural activities, 2020
(%, share of total employment for each activity)
Source: Eurostat (bd_9bd_sz_cl_r2)

Most cultural enterprises in the EU did not survive beyond 5 years, 2020 data reveals.
Business demography statistics also track cohorts of newly founded enterprises for up to 5 years. This information provides data on the share of businesses that started up in a specific year and managed to survive through subsequent years.

Table 5 shows survival rates for a cohort of enterprises and reveals that in the EU, less than half of the enterprises created in 2015 within the whole services sector remained active in the market after 5 years (45.8 %). Data at national level show that for most of the cultural activities, the 2015 cohort of enterprises achieved a survival rate after five years higher than for the services enterprises in the business economy. The rate was the highest for 'architectural activities'.

For 'architectural activities', only five EU Member States – Finland, Italy, Denmark, Bulgaria and Sweden – recorded the survival rate of cultural enterprises as lower than the average of services in their business economy. For activities related to the production of audio-video content, six EU Member States – Cyprus, Denmark, Slovenia, Luxembourg, Germany and France – recorded a survival rate of cultural enterprises lower than the average of the services sector.

In turn, enterprises in 'creative, arts and entertainment activities' had a lower survival rate after five years than services in the business economy in 13 out of 23 countries for which data are available (a comparison is not available for Belgium, Ireland, Poland and Sweden).

France was the only country where the rate of enterprises in each of selected cultural activities that survived beyond 5 years was lower than services in their business economy.

Table 5: Survival rates for cultural enterprises born in 2015
(%)
Source: Eurostat (bd_9bd_sz_cl_r2)

Figure 8 focuses on 'creative, arts and entertainment activities', a branch of the cultural sector with a relatively low enterprise survival rate. A complete set of information is available for 23 EU Member States (partial data available for Belgium; data are not available for Ireland, Poland and Sweden).

Among the cohort of 'creative, arts and entertainment' enterprises that started up in 2015, 9 out of 10 survived beyond 1 year in the Netherlands, Malta, Slovenia and Croatia, while less than two-thirds survived their first year in Portugal and Lithuania. At least half the same cohort of enterprises that started up in 2015 were still operating after 5 years in the Netherlands, Hungary, Romania, Czechia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Austria. By contrast, in Cyprus, Germany, Portugal, Malta, Denmark and Lithuania, less than one-third of the enterprises that started up in 2015 were still active in 2020.

Figure 8: Survival rates for creative, arts and entertainment enterprises born in 2015
(%)
Source: Eurostat (bd_9bd_sz_cl_r2)

Source data for tables and graphs

Cultural enterprises: tables and figures

Data sources

Eurostat compiles data on culture-related enterprises from two main data sources:

Note: the activity coverage of culture-related enterprises differs between structural business statistics and business demography statistics — see Table 1 for more details.

Structural business statistics

SBS cover industry, construction, trade and (market) services, as defined by the NACE. This classification allows for a detailed sectoral breakdown of business activities. The information is available for a broad range of structural indicators (including data for the number of businesses, the number of people employed, turnover and value added) and may also be analysed according to business size. The version of NACE currently used in the European statistical system is NACE Rev. 2, implemented from 2008 onwards.

Within the context of SBS, the following definitions apply:

An enterprise is defined as an organisational unit producing goods or services which has a certain degree of autonomy in decision-making; it can carry out more than one economic activity and be based in more than one location. If an enterprise operates in more than one economic activity, all of the value added that it generates (or the people it employs, etc.) are classified according to its principal activity – normally, the activity which generates the highest level of value added.

The number of persons employed refers to the total number of people working in the observation unit (including working proprietors, partners working regularly in the unit and unpaid family workers), and people who work outside the unit but who belong to it and are paid by it (e.g. sales representatives, delivery staff, repair and maintenance teams). It excludes manpower supplied to the unit by other businesses, people carrying out repair and maintenance work in the enquiry unit on behalf of other businesses, as well as those on compulsory military service.

Turnover comprises the totals invoiced by the observation unit during the reference period, and this corresponds to market sales of goods or services supplied to third parties. It includes all duties and taxes on the goods or services invoiced by the unit except for VAT invoiced by the unit to its customer and other similar deductible taxes directly linked to turnover. It also includes other charges (transport, packaging) passed on to the customer.

Value added at factor cost is the gross income from operating activities after adjusting for operating subsidies and indirect taxes. It can be calculated as the total sum of items to be added (+) or subtracted (-):
- turnover (+);
- capitalised production (+);
- other operating income (+);
- increases (+) or decreases (-) of stocks;
- purchases of goods and services (-);
- other taxes on products which are linked to turnover but not deductible (-);
- duties and taxes linked to production (-).

Alternatively, it can be calculated from the gross operating surplus by adding personnel costs.

SBS may be broken down by business size-class for analytical purposes, as follows:

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) employing 1 to 249 people, composed of:
- micro enterprises with less than 10 people employed;
- small enterprises with 10 to 49 people employed;
- medium-sized enterprises with 50 to 249 people employed.

Large enterprises with 250 or more people employed.

Business demography statistics

Business demography statistics cover information for business births and deaths, as well as indicators relating to survival rates or the impact newly founded businesses have on employment. These statistics are usually drawn from business registers, although some EU Member States seek to increase data availability by integrating alternative sources.

Within the context of business demography statistics, the following definitions apply:

An active enterprise is a business that had either turnover or employment at any time during the reference period.
An enterprise birth occurs when a business starts from scratch and begins operations — the creation of a combination of production factors with the restriction that no other businesses are involved in the event. Enterprise births do not include:
- dormant enterprises being reactivated within two years;
- new corporate entities being created from mergers, break-ups, spin-offs/split-offs or the restructuring of enterprises or a set of enterprises;
- market entry resulting only from a change of activity.

The enterprise birth rate for a given reference period (usually one calendar year) is defined as the number of enterprise births, expressed as a percentage of the total number of active enterprises.
An enterprise death is the termination of a business, amounting to the dissolution of a combination of production factors with the restriction that no other businesses are involved in the closure. Enterprise deaths exclude:
- active businesses ending operations due to mergers, takeovers, break-ups or the restructuring of a set of businesses;
- market exits that result purely from a change of activity.
The enterprise death rate for a given reference period (usually one calendar year) is defined as the number of enterprise deaths, expressed as a percentage of the total number of active enterprises.
Enterprise survival refers to a case in which a business is active and identifiable both before and after a specific (business) demographic event. The business may be changed in some way, for example, in terms of its economic activity, size, ownership or location, but there should be continuity of the business reference number in the statistical business register.
Enterprise survival rates for newly-born enterprises in a given reference period refer to the number of enterprises that were born in year xx-n and survived to year xx, expressed as a percentage of the total number of enterprises born in year xx-n.

Context

Culture is one of Europe greatest assets: it is a source of values and identity and creates a sense of belonging. It also contributes to well-being, social cohesion and inclusion. The cultural and creative sectors can trigger economic growth, job creation and international trade.

This is why culture is becoming more important in the EU. Article 167 of the Treaty of Lisbon states that the EU must contribute to the 'flowering of the cultures of the EU Member States, while respecting their national and regional diversity and at the same time bringing the common heritage to the fore'.

The EU supports these objectives through the Creative Europe programme and a number of policy actions included in the Work Plan for Culture (2023-2026). The plan, adopted by the Council of Culture Ministers of the EU, sets out the current main priorities for European cooperation in cultural policymaking: empowering the cultural and creative sectors (CCS), enhancing cultural participation and the role of culture in society, unleashing the power of culture and strengthening the cultural dimension of the EU external relations. According to the document, implementation of the Work Plan for Culture (2023-2026) should also be supported by optimised use of quality data and statistics.