ABSTRACT
According to EUROSTAT fi gures, Greece, along with Italy, has the largest proportion of fi rms per inhabitants in the EU: 694.4 and 683 fi rms per 10,000 inhabitants respectively, against 546.4 fi rms in the EU on average. In Greece, there exist over 800,000 SMEs, which constitute the vast majority of all fi rms (see Table 2.1). SMEs also contribute considerably to the creation of new jobs. It is worth pointing out, however, that the survival rate of newly established fi rms is rather low. According to a recent survey carried out by the Federation of Greek Industries (SEV), seven out of 10 newly established fi rms close down within 12 months, whilst the number of closures exceeds that of new establishments.
