SEPTEMBER 22 2026
The ninth edition of the Brain Business Jobs Index, produced by the European Centre for Entrepreneurship and Policy Reform (ECEPR) with support from Nordic Capital, maps knowledge-intensive employment across 34 European countries and 244 regions. The study measures the share of the working-age population employed in highly knowledge-intensive businesses across technology, ICT, advanced services and creative professions, providing a picture of how Europe’s knowledge economy is developing over time.
Findings 2026
Switzerland remains in the lead, while Sweden and Denmark share third place
Switzerland remains Europe’s leading brain business economy, with 11.4 percent of working-age adults employed in knowledge-intensive jobs, followed by Ireland at 11.1 percent. Sweden and Denmark both stand at 10.4 percent, followed by Malta and the Netherlands. Estonia and Cyprus are also close to the ten-percent mark. All eight countries at or around this level are small or medium-sized European economies.
The UK returns to the index and leads among Europe’s larger economies
For the first time since Brexit, the UK is included again in the study. With 8.6 percent of working-age adults employed in brain business jobs, it ranks ahead of Germany at 8.2 percent, France at 6.5 percent and Italy and Spain at 5.6 percent.
Central European capitals continue to dominate the regional ranking
Bratislava remains Europe’s leading region, with 24.8 percent of working-age adults employed in brain business jobs. Prague and Budapest follow at 22.2 percent, with Lisbon in fourth place, ahead of Bucharest and Zagreb. Six of the top ten regions are in Central Europe, while Copenhagen and Stockholm represent the Nordics. Nine of the top ten are capital regions.
Southern, Central and Eastern Europe continue to record strong long-term growth
Since 2014, Cyprus has increased its concentration of brain business jobs by 159 percent, followed by Portugal at 110 percent and Croatia at 102 percent. Lithuania, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Malta and Estonia have also recorded increases of more than 75 percent over the period.
Brain business jobs remain linked to lower regional unemployment
The study again finds a relationship between knowledge-intensive employment and regional labour-market outcomes. Each percentage point increase in the share of people employed in brain business jobs is associated with 0.18 percentage points lower regional unemployment. This means that a region where the share is ten percentage points higher has, on average, unemployment 1.8 percentage points below that of the typical European region.
Rate of change in brain business jobs concentration
(per capita working-age inhabitants) between 2014 and 2026
| Cyprus | 159% |
| Portugal | 110% |
| Croatia | 102% |
| Lithuania | 83% |
| Poland | 81% |
| Bulgaria | 78% |
| Romania | 77% |
| Malta | 77% |
| Estonia | 76% |
| Slovenia | 68% |
| Slovakia | 65% |
| Spain | 54% |
| Hungary | 54% |
| Latvia | 53% |
| Italy | 48% |
| Greece | 42% |
| Czechia | 39% |
| Belgium | 33% |
| Netherlands | 29% |
| Austria | 24% |
| Norway | 23% |
| Germany | 20% |
| France | 18% |
| Sweden | 16% |
| Finland | 16% |
| Denmark | 15% |
| Switzerland | 12% |
| Iceland | 3% |
| Luxembourg | 3% |
Source: ECEPR's analysis of Eurostat structural business statistics, short-term business statistics, and population data. For countries which long data series on brain business jobs exist.