Checked Barometer
The Checked Barometer counts the bankruptcies, incorporations, reorganisations and dissolutions every month, by region and by sector. Every edition can be cited and stays frozen from the day it appears.
1,149 bankruptcies in October 2026265,508 bankruptcies since June 199734 editions since January 2024 14-11-2026 updated
Edition of May 2024
compiled on 05-11-2026, after the regular publication date (06-06-2024) · 972 bankruptcies and 7,840 incorporationsFigures by region
| Area | Bankruptcies | Incorporations | Reorganisations | Dissolutions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flanders | 502-6.7% | 4,068+9.8% | 19-5% | 83+17% |
| Wallonia | 205-1% | 1,731+9.1% | 26-19% | 204-15% |
| Brussels | 265+6.9% | 1,467+16% | 16-24% | 268-27% |
| No known area | 0 | 574+8.3% | 0 | 0 |
| Belgium | 972-2.1% | 7,840+11% | 61-16% | 555-18% |
A bankruptcy counts in the region of its court. The Brussels courts also serve Halle-Vilvoorde, which therefore counts with Brussels. An incorporation counts in the region of the registered office, for a sole trader in that of the first establishment.
Notable sectors
For bankruptcies, the sector is known for 36% of this month's cases, against 28% in May 2023. A comparison per sector would therefore not be meaningful.
For incorporations, the sector is known for 76% of this month's cases, against 76% in May 2023. A comparison per sector would therefore not be meaningful.
Incorporations by sector
- Professional and technical services ≥ 1,010997
- Construction ≥ 851796
- Wholesale and retail trade ≥ 701564
- Administrative and support services ≥ 500444
- Other services ≥ 493395
- Accommodation and food service ≥ 351297
- Telecoms and IT ≥ 311294
- Health and social work ≥ 295300
Show 14 more
- Arts, sports and recreation ≥ 288247
- Manufacturing ≥ 230231
- Transport and storage ≥ 217125
- Education ≥ 189177
- Real estate ≥ 177179
- Finance and insurance ≥ 166124
- Agriculture, forestry and fishing ≥ 81113
- Publishing and media ≥ 5063
- Households ≥ 2930
- Energy ≥ 127
- Water and waste ≥ 103
- Public administration ≥ 12
- Mining and quarrying ≥ 00
- Extraterritorial organisations ≥ 00
In grey: May 2023. The sector is known for 76% of the cases of May 2024 (1,878 without a sector). No change per sector is therefore computed.
Insights from May 2024
In May 2024, the Belgian Official Gazette published 972 bankruptcies, 2.1% fewer than in May 2023.
In May 2024, 7,840 companies were incorporated, 11% more than in May 2023.
In May 2024, the Belgian Official Gazette published 61 judicial reorganisations, 16% fewer than in May 2023.
In May 2024, the Belgian Official Gazette published 555 judicial dissolutions, 18% fewer than in May 2023.
9 more sentences
That is 4.9% more than in April 2024 (927).
Over the twelve months from June 2023 to May 2024 there were 11,118, 10% more than the twelve months before.
In May 2024 there were 502 bankruptcies in Flanders, 205 in Wallonia and 265 in Brussels and Halle-Vilvoorde.
That is 38% fewer than in April 2024 (12,691).
Over the twelve months from June 2023 to May 2024 there were 114,506, 12% more than the twelve months before.
That is 3.2% fewer than in April 2024 (63).
Over the twelve months from June 2023 to May 2024 there were 561, 1.4% more than the twelve months before.
That is 26% more than in April 2024 (441).
Over the twelve months from June 2023 to May 2024 there were 5,919, 15% fewer than the twelve months before.
Citation
Checked.be, Checked Barometer May 2024 (edition of 5 November 2026), https://checked.be/en/barometer/2024-05
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Method and sources
- An edition appears on the 6th of the next month, so the last days of the month are processed. After that the figures are fixed. Data that arrives later is listed under Revisions.
- Incorporations: companies per month of their start date in the KBO register, sole traders included.
- Companies still appear in the KBO weeks after their start date. A month's incorporations are therefore complete only two months after that month ends. Until then they carry no comparison.
- Bankruptcies, judicial reorganisations (opening) and judicial dissolutions count in the month of their publication in the Belgian Official Gazette, not in that of the judgment.
- In July and August, the judicial recess, the courts sit little. The three court figures are therefore not compared with either of those months, only with the same month a year earlier.
- The sector is the company's main activity (NACE 2025) in the KBO. The sign "≥" before a figure means that the sector of part of the cases is unknown. A comparison per sector is made only when the sector is equally well known in both months.
- Bankruptcies: the sector is known for only 36% of the cases of May 2024. That is too few for a breakdown by sector.
- The figure per 10,000 active companies sets the month's figure against the sector's active companies shortly after that month.
Every month since 2019 in the trends explorer
Definitions
All figures cover the same twelve months, November 2025 to October 2026, and were counted on 14 November 2026. The same definitions apply on every Checked market page.
- Incorporations in 12 months
- 153,469
- Enterprises with a KBO start date in those twelve months, sole traders included, even if they have stopped since.
- Bankruptcies in 12 months
- 12,147
- Declared bankruptcies the Belgian Official Gazette published in those twelve months, including those of natural persons without an enterprise number.
- Active companies
- 1,976,894
- Enterprises active in the KBO on 14 November 2026, sole traders included.
On this page
An edition's figures are fixed on the day it appears, so a quotation stays right. The edition of May 2024 has been fixed since 5 November 2026. The difference with today's count over the same twelve months is registrations and judgments that came in later.
| In the edition | 114,506 |
|---|---|
| came in or were struck off later, net | +1 |
| Counted today | 114,507 |
| In the edition | 11,118 |
|---|---|
| came in or were struck off later, net | 0 |
| Counted today | 11,118 |