Alicante business landscape: SMEs, employment patterns, and growth trends in 2023

Across the country, smaller firms are thriving, including in Alicante where many startups and family-run businesses are turning heads. This photo set highlights the broad reach of efficient fabric and commerce that spans provincial lines, proving that small enterprises remain a strong force in the economy and in daily life across Spain.

The latest data from the Central Business Directory (Dirce), compiled annually by INE, provides a detailed snapshot. As of January 1 this year, Alicante counted 136,754 economically active companies, placing it as the fourth largest province by business activity in the country, following Madrid with 503,018, Barcelona with 445,119, and Valencia with 177,339.

Normally Dirce helps track how the number of active companies evolves. However, this year a redefinition by INE makes direct year-to-year comparisons less straightforward. Nationally, active firms rose by 0.5%, reaching 3,207,580.

When looking at the distribution of Alicante’s headquarters, more than half of the firms—71,759, or 52.5%—employ no staff. These are mostly self-employed individuals or very small companies operating solo.

The number of gazelle companies in Alicante begins to increase after the pandemic

Another notable share—28.7%, about 39,225 firms—operate with only one or two employees; around 14,000 firms (10.2%) have three to five workers; and 5,563 (4.1%) have between six and nine employees.

In this context, only 4.5% of Alicante-based firms hire more than ten people. This is two tenths below the national average and three tenths below the regional average. Yet the greater the company size, the starker the gap with the rest of the country; large firms with more than 250 employees in Alicante account for just 0.07%, roughly half the national rate of 0.15%.

Terraces on Elda’s main square. Axel Alvarez

Considering these figures, the majority of Alicante businesses—around 78,303, or 57.25%—are actual individuals running a business or solo professionals. The next most common legal form is limited partnerships, totaling 48,282. Following them are property companies (4,818) and associations (3,472).

In contrast, only 0.7% of Alicante firms are Public Limited Companies, a category that tends to include larger enterprises; there are also 696 cooperatives in the province.

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Dirce also tracks the number of facilities, or business centers, operating in each district, even if the owner is a company from another region. As of January 1, there were 167,218 facilities active in Alicante.

Construction, freelance work and real estate development are driving self-employment in Alicante. Despite a wave of closures in recent years due to online competition, trade remains the sector with the most establishments, totaling 35,782 in the province. This breaks down into retail outlets (23,694) and wholesale distributors (12,088).

Following closely are food and beverage services—bars and restaurants—where 13,886 establishments were operating at the start of the year. The third-largest sector in terms of available space is real estate, with 13,097 activities, a number that includes property management and related services. These figures offer insight into the activity around buying, selling and renting homes in the region.

A view of the Elche business park. Information

INE lists 11,714 business centers and 8,520 professionals dedicating themselves to specialized trades such as electricians and plumbers in the province.

There are also 6,571 offices offering legal, consulting and related services and 6,539 locations in the health sector, including hospitals, dental clinics and a wide range of private services.

The sector skew shows the oldest firms in accommodation, while the youngest clusters appear in hospitality and construction. Dirce results indicate that as of January 1, 2023, 18.3% of active firms had existed for 20 years or more, while 19.0% had less than two years of activity. Age distribution varies by sector: industrial businesses include the highest share of veteran firms (31.3% are 20 years or older). Younger firms are more common in service-related activities, especially hospitality, where 22.0% have not yet reached their second year, and in construction (21.1%).