SME Policy Index for Western Balkans and Türkiye 2026

SME definition and data coverage

SME definition

All six Western Balkan (WB6) economies and Türkiye apply the same employee headcount thresholds as the EU standard definition, but differ in their use of financial criteria, ranging from full alignment to substantial deviation. Bosnia and Herzegovina is most closely aligned with the EU framework, with turnover and asset thresholds identical to those of the EU Recommendation across all three size categories. Kosovo* and Serbia apply a two-of-three criteria approach (headcount, turnover, assets) with financial thresholds set moderately below EU levels – for example, a medium-enterprise turnover ceiling of EUR 40 million versus EUR 50 million in the European Union. Montenegro’s headcount thresholds mirror the European Union, but its microenterprise revenue ceiling is substantially lower (EUR 900 000 versus EUR 2 million). Albania shows the greatest degree of divergence among the WB6: its medium-enterprise turnover ceiling of approximately EUR 2.4 million is roughly one-twentieth of the European Union’s EUR 50 million, reflecting both lower domestic price levels and a narrower practical scope. Türkiye applies a distinctive “both” criteria rule under which a firm must simultaneously meet headcount and financial thresholds, meaning that a firm with fewer than 250 employees may be classified as large if its turnover exceeds the applicable limit. The financial thresholds, set in Turkish lira, have been progressively eroded by sustained domestic inflation and were revised upward in August 2025.

This definitional divergence constitutes the principal methodological consideration for cross-economy comparison in this publication.

SME data coverage

The statistical infrastructure underpinning the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector overview varies considerably across the region, with significant implications for the analytical depth achievable in each economy chapter. Serbia offers the most comprehensive public Structural Business Statistics (SBS) infrastructure: an EU-standard four-class breakdown, full cross-tabulation and publication through Eurostat’s harmonised series. Albania and North Macedonia provide similarly structured four-class data that are also Eurostat-published. Türkiye possesses the deepest national SBS databases, but Eurostat does not publish them due to methodological non-alignment. Kosovo is unique in that its statistical office does not publish size-disaggregated SBS, though it maintains one of the strongest business demography frameworks. Montenegro’s SBS uses a non-standard three-tier classification and does not publish employment headcounts. Bosnia and Herzegovina’s three parallel statistical systems produce complementary but not always cross-tabulated data. Business demography – systematic statistics on birth rates, death rates, survival and high-growth enterprises – remains a region-wide gap, with Kosovo the principal exception.

The OECD statistical questionnaires, which complement public SBS data with thematic indicators across nine policy dimensions, reveal an uneven picture of institutional capacity and responsiveness (Table 1).

Table 1. Statistical data coverage ratings across the Western Balkans and Türkiye

Dimension	ALB	BiH	KOS	MKD	MNE	SRB	TUR
General statistics / SBS	Substantial	Limited	Substantial	Substantial	Limited	Substantial	Partial
Dimension 1: Entrepreneurial learning and women’s entrepreneurship	Moderate	Partial	Moderate	Partial	Moderate	Substantial	Limited
Dimension 2: Bankruptcy and second chance	Limited	Limited	Limited	Limited	Limited	Partial	Limited
Dimension 5b: Public procurement	Moderate	Partial	Moderate	Partial	Limited	Moderate	Limited
Dimension 6: Access to finance for SMEs	Substantial	Limited	Moderate	Limited	Moderate	Moderate	Limited
Dimension 8a: Enterprise skills	Moderate	Moderate	Limited	Moderate	Partial	Substantial	Limited
Dimension 8b: Innovation policy for SMEs	Moderate	Moderate	Limited	Moderate	Partial	Substantial	Limited
Dimension 9: SMEs in a green economy	Limited	Limited	Limited	Limited	Limited	Limited	Limited
Dimension 10: Internationalisation of SMEs	Substantial	Moderate	Limited	Partial	Moderate	Substantial	Partial
Dimension 11: Digital transformation of SMEs	Moderate	Moderate	Partial	Moderate	Moderate	Substantial	Moderate

Notes: Green = Substantial (majority of indicators with multi-year series); Yellow = Moderate or Partial; Red = Limited (below one-quarter or not returned). Dimension 9 (SMEs in a green economy) is uniformly Limited across all economies. Ratings reflect data as received through OECD statistical questionnaires.

Serbia provided the most comprehensive response, with roughly half of all indicators populated and five dimensions rated Substantial. Albania and North Macedonia returned approximately one-quarter to one-third of indicators. Bosnia and Herzegovina’s response was comparable in volume but fragmented across three institutional levels. Türkiye presents a notable contrast: the richest public SBS data in the group alongside the sparsest questionnaire return, with seven of ten dimensions unreturned. The green economy dimension was uniformly “Limited” across all seven economies, a gap that precludes quantitative assessment of SME environmental performance at the regional level.

These coverage patterns have direct analytical consequences. Where coverage is rated “Substantial”, the assessment in the corresponding economy chapter can draw on quantitative trends and benchmarks; where it is “Limited”, the analysis relies more heavily on qualitative evidence and policy documentation. The dimension-by-dimension data coverage assessment for each economy is presented in full in the corresponding chapter.