During 2011, a total of 391,270 businesses ceased trading in Spain, while 334,516 new businesses started up, a negative balance of 56,754.
The number of active enterprises declined by 1.2% to a total of 3.2 million companies, the fourth consecutive annual decrease. Based on figures prepared by the INE (National Institute of Statistics), 80% of companies employ two or less people and 55.2% of companies do not have any employees. Only 4.7% of businesses employ 20 or more people.
The sector most affected by businesses closing down is construction and related.