Business start-ups and closures in Belgium

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Belgium publishes two series that are easily confused. The business demography counts enterprise births and deaths following the European method; it covers the market economy and practically the same population of enterprises as Eurostat’s structural business statistics. The VAT statistics count registrations and deregistrations of VAT-registered businesses, including the self-employed, agriculture and associations. The figures of the two series cannot be compared with each other.

Enterprise births and deaths per year

The table can be scrolled sideways.

The number of active enterprises in 2023 (905,376) is the same as the count in Eurostat’s structural business statistics (905,376); the series therefore uses the same population of enterprises.

• 2021: 65,482 births (7.8%) and 31,950 deaths (3.8%), balance +33,532.
• 2022: 80,387 births (9.0%) and 37,622 deaths (4.2%), balance +42,765.
• 2023: 74,552 births (8.2%) and 49,327 deaths (5.4%), balance +25,225.
• 2021 to 2023: the number of active enterprises rose from 843,146 to 905,376; the death rate rose from 3.8% to 5.4%.

VAT registrations and deregistrations by economic section, 2024

The VAT statistics are available per NACE-BEL section and are more recent. Statbel counts start-ups as new VAT registrations and closures as deregistrations; section S here also includes associations and membership organisations (division 94).

The table can be scrolled sideways.

• Highest start-up rates 2024 (sections with at least 1,000 active businesses): Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply (14.6%), Education (13.0%), Administrative and support service activities (12.2%).
• Lowest start-up rates: Agriculture, forestry and fishing (3.9%), Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation (7.5%), Manufacturing (7.8%).
• Highest closure rates: Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply (10.7%), Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles (9.6%), Education (9.4%).
• More closures than start-ups in 2024: Agriculture, forestry and fishing (1,914 against 2,425), Mining and quarrying (14 against 17), Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles (15,540 against 17,759).

Why this matters for address lists

Every year businesses are added and others disappear. A list as of a particular day therefore contains, over time, businesses that no longer exist and lacks new ones. In sections with high rates this happens faster. Ask for the data status of every list and use it promptly. The rates indicate this pace, but they are not the error rate of a particular list.

Definitions

• Birth (business demography): an enterprise starts an activity for the first time. Enterprises that become active again within two years after a dormant period, and new units arising from mergers, break-ups or restructuring, do not count (Eurostat glossary “Enterprise birth”).
• Death (business demography): an enterprise ceases its activity without other enterprises being involved and is not reactivated within two years. Mergers, takeovers and mere changes of industry do not count (Eurostat glossary “Enterprise death”).
• Start-up and closure (VAT statistics): a VAT registration or a deregistration during the year, as counted by Statbel; it is not the same as a birth or death in the business demography.
• Rate: births, deaths, start-ups or closures as a percentage of the active businesses in the same year, rounded to one decimal place.

How to cite

The figures come from Statbel; you may reuse them with attribution. Suggestion:

basedecontacts.be: Business start-ups and closures in Belgium. Based on Statbel, active enterprises, births and deaths 2021–2023, and VAT-registered businesses, registrations and deregistrations by economic activity (2024). Retrieved on 4 November 2026. https://basedecontacts.be/en/data/creations-et-cessations/