The number of radio broadcasting enterprises per million inhabitants differs greatly between EU countries. The highest were recorded in Slovenia (76 radio broadcasting enterprises per million inhabitants), followed by Greece (58), Cyprus (43), Croatia (38), Hungary (32) and Portugal (28), while the lowest ones were observed in Germany, Poland, and Slovakia with three radio broadcasting enterprises per million inhabitants.

In real terms, being a small country, Cyprus has one of the lowest number of radio stations among the countries included in the study.

There were many more of these enterprises in Spain (963) and Italy (720) than in Luxembourg (6), Estonia (10), Slovakia (16), Lithuania (23) and Cyprus (37).

Radio broadcasting in Europe is on the decline.

A total of 5,017 radio enterprises operated across the EU in 2017. This is 300 fewer than in the previous year and 11% fewer than the 5,641 enterprises in 2013.

In Cyprus, the number of enterprises did not change from 2016 to 2017. However, it has dropped from 46 in 2009 to 37 in 2016 and 2017.

In 2017, radio broadcasting enterprises employed 48,345 people in the EU, 14% less than in 2013.

This trend is not followed by Cyprus, where the number of radio station employees is growing. A total of 202 employees were recorded in 2016, 205 in 2017 and the provisional count for 2018 is 218.

The number of people employed in this sector varied greatly across EU member states. Germany employed 8,727 people in the radio broadcasting sector whereas in Slovakia just 63 people were employed in the same sector in 2017.

The number of people employed as a percentage of total employment is low in all EU member states, ranging from 0.1% in Greece and Sweden to almost zero in Czechia and Slovakia.

Source: Cyprus Mail