There are 25 million micro-enterprises in the European Union, and they generate 20% of EU GDP.

Omissions

• The '25 million' figure commonly used in EU discourse refers to ALL SMEs (micro, small and medium-sized), not micro-enterprises specifically; the number of micro-enterprises is lower in the standard SME Performance Review scope (≈23 million, about 93% of SMEs in the non-financial business economy) but higher (~30 million) if all enterprises in Eurostat's wider scope (32.3 million total enterprises in 2022) are counted.
• The '20% of GDP' figure corresponds to micro-enterprises' share of total value added in the business economy (a proxy for GDP), not GDP strictly defined; JRC data for 2022 show micro-enterprises generated 36% of SME value added in the non-financial business economy.
• The claim could not be verified against a source stating the exact figure '25 million micro-enterprises' — the figure is a standard count for SMEs; verification relies on official Eurostat/Commission data on total enterprises and SME breakdowns rather than an explicit statement of micro-enterprise counts.
• The 20% value-added share is consistent with official data but is derived from JRC/Commission SME statistics rather than stated verbatim in the sources retrieved.

Sources

• PrimaryEurostat — News (Micro & small businesses make up 99% of enterprises in the EU)In 2022, the EU had 32.3 million enterprises, employing 160 million persons. Of that total, 99% were micro and small enterprises employing fewer than 50 persons.
• PrimaryEurostat — Statistics Explained (Structural business statistics overview)33.1 million enterprises were active in the EU in 2023, employing 162.2 million persons. Of that total, 99.8% were small and medium-sized enterprises.
• PrimaryEuropean Commission — SME Performance Review (official page)The EU's 34 million SMEs demonstrated solid growth in 2025 and are consolidating a recovery from recent crises. Their real value added grew by 2.5%...
• PrimaryJRC — Annual Report on European SMEs 2023 (European Commission, Joint Research Centre)However, these very small SMEs accounted for 36% of SME value added, and 46% of SME employment in the NFBS in 2022. In terms of employment, micro enterprises...