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 2025
compiled on 05-11-2026, after the regular publication date (06-06-2025) · 903 bankruptcies and 8,528 incorporationsFigures by region
| Area | Bankruptcies | Incorporations | Reorganisations | Dissolutions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flanders | 463-7.8% | 4,300+5.7% | 17-11% | 253+205% |
| Wallonia | 187-8.8% | 1,848+6.8% | 15-42% | 104-49% |
| Brussels | 253-4.5% | 1,672+14% | 14-13% | 203-24% |
| No known area | 0 | 708+23% | 0 | 0 |
| Belgium | 903-7.1% | 8,528+8.8% | 46-25% | 560+0.9% |
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 56% of this month's cases, against 36% in May 2024. A comparison per sector would therefore not be meaningful.
For incorporations, the sector is known for 75% of this month's cases, against 76% in May 2024. A comparison per sector would therefore not be meaningful.
Incorporations by sector
- Professional and technical services ≥ 1,1841,010
- Construction ≥ 927851
- Wholesale and retail trade ≥ 709701
- Administrative and support services ≥ 577500
- Other services ≥ 522493
- Accommodation and food service ≥ 382351
- Telecoms and IT ≥ 321311
- Arts, sports and recreation ≥ 310288
Show 14 more
- Health and social work ≥ 276295
- Transport and storage ≥ 247217
- Education ≥ 233189
- Manufacturing ≥ 229230
- Real estate ≥ 174177
- Finance and insurance ≥ 92166
- Agriculture, forestry and fishing ≥ 9181
- Publishing and media ≥ 8150
- Households ≥ 3529
- Energy ≥ 1612
- Water and waste ≥ 410
- Mining and quarrying ≥ 10
- Public administration ≥ 11
- Extraterritorial organisations ≥ 10
In grey: May 2024. The sector is known for 75% of the cases of May 2025 (2,115 without a sector). No change per sector is therefore computed.
Insights from May 2025
In May 2025, the Belgian Official Gazette published 903 bankruptcies, 7.1% fewer than in May 2024.
In May 2025, 8,528 companies were incorporated, 8.8% more than in May 2024.
In May 2025, the Belgian Official Gazette published 46 judicial reorganisations, 25% fewer than in May 2024.
In May 2025, the Belgian Official Gazette published 560 judicial dissolutions, 0.9% more than in May 2024.
10 more sentences
That is 18% fewer than in April 2025 (1,103).
Over the twelve months from June 2024 to May 2025 there were 11,465, 3.1% more than the twelve months before.
In May 2025 there were 463 bankruptcies in Flanders, 187 in Wallonia and 253 in Brussels and Halle-Vilvoorde.
May 2025: 903 bankruptcies, the fewest in any May since 2021.
That is 41% fewer than in April 2025 (14,435).
Over the twelve months from June 2024 to May 2025 there were 125,120, 9.3% more than the twelve months before.
That is 33% fewer than in April 2025 (69).
Over the twelve months from June 2024 to May 2025 there were 536, 4.5% fewer than the twelve months before.
That is 23% more than in April 2025 (457).
Over the twelve months from June 2024 to May 2025 there were 5,416, 8.5% fewer than the twelve months before.
Citation
Checked.be, Checked Barometer May 2025 (edition of 5 November 2026), https://checked.be/en/barometer/2025-05
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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 56% of the cases of May 2025. 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 2025 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 | 125,120 |
|---|---|
| came in or were struck off later, net | +6 |
| Counted today | 125,126 |
| In the edition | 11,465 |
|---|---|
| came in or were struck off later, net | 0 |
| Counted today | 11,465 |