EU radio stats: 30,000 jobs, €4B revenue

About 30,000 persons were employed by radio broadcasting enterprises across the European Union in 2022, with these enterprises recording a net turnover of 4 billion euro, according to data published by Eurostat, the statistical service of the EU, on the occasion of UNESCO’s World Radio Day (13 February). In Cyprus, the number of persons employed in radio broadcasting businesses decreased, while net turnover increased, with Cyprus remaining one of the countries with the most broadcasting enterprises relative to population.

In numbers in Cyprus, 178 persons worked in radio broadcasting in 2022, compared to 197 in 2021. During the same period, there was an increase in radio broadcasting enterprises from 31 to 32, while the net turnover also increased from 8.74 million euro to 9.14 million euro.

On the EU level, data for 2021 shows 5,000 enterprises operating as radio broadcasters.

The top five countries by the number of radio broadcasting enterprises in the EU in 2022 were Spain (714), Italy (679), Greece (599), France (343) and Portugal (299).

At the other end of the range were Luxembourg (5), Estonia (9), Slovakia (14), Malta (19) and Lithuania (20).

However, considering the population size of EU members, Slovenia recorded the highest ratio at 75 radio broadcasting enterprises per million inhabitants, followed by Greece (57), Malta (36), Cyprus and Croatia (35).

Conversely, the lowest ratios were observed in Poland (2), Germany and Slovakia (both 3), Czechia (4), and Austria, France, and Sweden (all 5).

The top five countries by the number of persons employed in the radio broadcasting sector in 2022 were Spain (5,550), Germany (5,010), France (2,815), Romania (2,510) and Italy (2,469).

The lowest numbers were observed in Slovakia (53), Lithuania (87), Czechia (100), Estonia (110) and Sweden (163).

The percentage of persons employed in the radio broadcasting sector relative to total employment was low across all EU members, ranging from 0.05% in Croatia and 0.04% in Slovenia, Cyprus, and Greece, to almost zero in Czechia and Slovakia (both 0.002%) and Sweden (0.003%).