SMEs Internationally
Due to data inconsistencies international comparisons of SME demographics and performance are difficult to make...
There is no universally used definition of a SME.19 Internationally, firm size is measured in a variety of ways including by numbers of employees, sales figures, assets and industrial classification. However, the diverse structures of economies makes adherence to a single statistical definition unworkable. International comparisons of SME demographics and performance are also difficult to make because of the different methods central statistical agencies use to collect and publish firm-level data. However, most countries use an employment measure to define ‘SMEs'.
This year, the OECD has provided us with a snapshot of manufacturing sector enterprises with fewer than 20 employees as a proportion of the manufacturing sector in a number of member economies. This is the most comparable data set available in the OECD.
This data is extracted from the OECD Structural Business Statistics database.
Table 21. Percentage of Enterprises with ‹20 employees within the Manufacturing Sector 2002-2005
|
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
Austria
|
94.6%
|
94.2%
|
94.5%
|
94.2%
|
Belgium
|
84.6%
|
85.2%
|
85.3%
|
85.4%
|
Canada
|
|
87.8%
|
88.4%
|
88.3%
|
Denmark
|
94.2%
|
94.3%
|
94.2%
|
|
Finland
|
83.1%
|
83.3%
|
83.7%
|
83.7%
|
France
|
90.2%
|
90.1%
|
90.0%
|
90.0%
|
Germany
|
89.2%
|
90.0%
|
90.2%
|
90.4%
|
Hungary
|
80.5%
|
81.5%
|
81.3%
|
82.0%
|
Iceland
|
92.6%
|
92.1%
|
92.1%
|
92.1%
|
Italy
|
59.8%
|
61.3%
|
61.2%
|
60.1%
|
Japan
|
93.2%
|
92.9%
|
93.0%
|
93.1%
|
Mexico
|
|
78.1%
|
78.4%
|
78.2%
|
New Zealand20
|
85.6%
|
85.4%
|
86.4%
|
86.8%
|
Norway
|
90.4%
|
90.1%
|
82.9%
|
83.0%
|
Portugal
|
0.0%
|
92.5%
|
92.6%
|
91.8%
|
Slovak Republic
|
89.4%
|
89.4%
|
89.8%
|
92.2%
|
Spain
|
64.5%
|
71.3%
|
69.1%
|
68.6%
|
Sweden
|
89.0%
|
89.1%
|
89.5%
|
89.1%
|
Switzerland
|
91.8%
|
|
93.0%
|
92.7%
|
USA
|
83.7%
|
84.7%
|
85.1%
|
85.5%
|
This table shows that enterprises with fewer than 20 employees make up the majority of firms in the manufacturing sector in all of the countries surveyed. Austria, Denmark, Iceland and Japan have the highest proportion of such enterprises within their manufacturing sector, while Italy and Spain have the lowest.
Figure 39 provides a clearer comparison between New Zealand and other key OECD economies. As can be seen from the graph, proportionally firms with fewer than 20 employees in New Zealand's manufacturing sector have a profile similar to that of the USA.
Figure 41. Percentage of Enterprises with ‹20 employees within the Manufacturing Sector – selected countries
→ Full size version of Figure 41 [19 kB GIF]
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