Cities, regions and central administration in Europe: what they buy and who supplies them
Buyers declaring "General public services" as their main activity, across the EU, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
In proportion
General government spending on goods, services and investment for general public services in the EU-27 came to €276 billion in 2024 (Eurostat, COFOG). How much of it reaches suppliers through tenders depends on how the country organises the sector — for example whether statutory health insurance is classified in government.
Source: Eurostat, government finance statistics (gov_10a_main, gov_10a_exp) and GDP (nama_10_gdp), retrieved 9 November 2026.
The market in numbers
Public supply contracts in Europe: award notices published on TED from 2023-11 to 2026-11, by publication year.
- Contracts awarded
- 255.5K
- in 108.1K award notices
- Awarded value
- €162B
- from 66% of awards with a published value
- Suppliers
- 53.4K
- with at least one award
- Public buyers
- 18.4K
- in this sector
Table view
| Nov–Dec 2023 | 3,147 |
| 2024 | 71,124 |
| 2025 | 92,718 |
| 2026 | 88,556 |
Table view
| Nov–Dec 2023 | €1.4B |
| 2024 | €39B |
| 2025 | €68B |
| 2026 | €54B |
- Medical equipments31,571
- Motor vehicles24,081
- Pharmaceutical products12,955
- Furniture12,419
- Fuels10,992
- Other251,411
Table view
| Medical equipments | 31,571 |
| Motor vehicles | 24,081 |
| Computer equipment and supplies | 14,891 |
| Pharmaceutical products | 12,955 |
| Furniture | 12,419 |
| Miscellaneous food products | 11,175 |
| Fuels | 10,992 |
| Miscellaneous transport equipment and spare parts | 10,524 |
| Other | 251,411 |
- France43,74410,083 companies
- Germany29,3087,080 companies
- Spain23,5196,105 companies
- Poland20,1653,774 companies
- Italy19,6042,981 companies
- Romania19,0781,832 companies
- Czechia13,7502,309 companies
- Lithuania8,8131,109 companies
- Sweden7,9482,479 companies
- Bulgaria7,4081,468 companies
Table view
| France | 43,744 |
| Germany | 29,308 |
| Spain | 23,519 |
| Poland | 20,165 |
| Italy | 19,604 |
| Romania | 19,078 |
| Czechia | 13,750 |
| Lithuania | 8,813 |
| Sweden | 7,948 |
| Bulgaria | 7,408 |
- Large companies
- Medium-sized
- Small
- Micro
- SME (size not stated)
- Size not stated
Table view
| Large companies | 58,722 · 23% |
| Medium-sized | 35,090 · 13.7% |
| Small | 29,148 · 11.4% |
| Micro | 7,024 · 2.7% |
| SME (size not stated) | 60,973 · 23.9% |
| Size not stated | 64,588 · 25.3% |
- Germany732
- United Kingdom525
- Netherlands477
- France427
- Austria392
- Czechia358
Table view
| Germany | 732 |
| United Kingdom | 525 |
| Netherlands | 477 |
| France | 427 |
| Austria | 392 |
| Czechia | 358 |
Awards to companies registered in the buyer's own country
97.6%
6,034 awards went to companies registered elsewhere.
Share of the 5 biggest winners
1.4%
Of all awards; a high share means a concentrated market.
Lots with a single bid
30.2%
Among 236.1K awards whose notice states the number of tenders.
How we count: one award per procedure, lot and winning company, from live contract award notices; a joint procurement counts on every buyer's market. Values are the awarded amounts published in the notice (framework ceilings and estimates are never added), converted to euro at the ECB yearly average. Company size is the SME flag of the notice (eForms BT-165). Read the methodology.
Questions
- What do cities, regions and central administration in Europe buy through public tenders?
- Mostly medical equipments (31,571 awards), motor vehicles (24,081 awards), computer equipment and supplies (14,891 awards) — 255,545 supply contracts in total since November 2023.
- How much is it worth?
- The 168,401 awards with a published value add up to €162B; the rest are framework ceilings or undisclosed amounts, which we never add.
All sectors in Europe · Europe by product category
Source: contract award notices on TED — Tenders Electronic Daily (ted.europa.eu), © European Union, published since November 2023; processed by Cresques. Numbers updated 2026-11-13.