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 12-11-2026 updated
Edition of February 2026
compiled on 05-11-2026, after the regular publication date (06-03-2026) · 1,062 bankruptcies and 11,593 incorporationsFigures by region
| Area | Bankruptcies | Incorporations | Reorganisations | Dissolutions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flanders | 580+12% | 5,545+13% | 20+122% | 88-44% |
| Wallonia | 192-5.4% | 3,025+27% | 14+100% | 102-6.4% |
| Brussels | 290+25% | 2,248+20% | 25+178% | 122-40% |
| No known area | 0 | 775+13% | 0 | 0 |
| Belgium | 1,062+11% | 11,593+18% | 59+136% | 312-34% |
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.
Bankruptcies by sector
- Construction ≥ 176131
- Accommodation and food service ≥ 132103
- Wholesale and retail trade ≥ 117100
- Transport and storage ≥ 6235
- Professional and technical services ≥ 4935
- Administrative and support services ≥ 4341
- Manufacturing ≥ 3730
- Other services ≥ 3123
- Telecoms and IT ≥ 235
- Real estate ≥ 2314
Show 8 more
In grey: February 2025. The sector is known for 70% of the cases of February 2026 (321 without a sector). No change per sector is therefore computed.
Notable sectors
For bankruptcies, the sector is known for 70% of this month's cases, against 56% in February 2025. A comparison per sector would therefore not be meaningful.
For incorporations, the sector is known for 77% of this month's cases, against 76% in February 2025. A comparison per sector would therefore not be meaningful.
Incorporations by sector
- Professional and technical services ≥ 1,6441,311
- Construction ≥ 1,3001,035
- Wholesale and retail trade ≥ 1,043801
- Administrative and support services ≥ 805635
- Other services ≥ 756582
- Telecoms and IT ≥ 508360
- Accommodation and food service ≥ 488456
- Health and social work ≥ 407385
Show 13 more
- Arts, sports and recreation ≥ 381375
- Manufacturing ≥ 354263
- Transport and storage ≥ 349233
- Education ≥ 317283
- Real estate ≥ 169245
- Agriculture, forestry and fishing ≥ 162167
- Publishing and media ≥ 10492
- Finance and insurance ≥ 77178
- Households ≥ 4647
- Energy ≥ 98
- Water and waste ≥ 88
- Mining and quarrying ≥ 10
- Public administration ≥ 01
In grey: February 2025. The sector is known for 77% of the cases of February 2026 (2,665 without a sector). No change per sector is therefore computed.
Insights from February 2026
In February 2026, the Belgian Official Gazette published 1,062 bankruptcies, 11% more than in February 2025.
In February 2026, 11,593 companies were incorporated, 18% more than in February 2025.
In February 2026, the Belgian Official Gazette published 59 judicial reorganisations, 136% more than in February 2025.
In February 2026, the Belgian Official Gazette published 312 judicial dissolutions, 34% fewer than in February 2025.
9 more sentences
That is 21% more than in January 2026 (881).
Over the twelve months from March 2025 to February 2026 there were 12,222, 8.2% more than the twelve months before.
In February 2026 there were 580 bankruptcies in Flanders, 192 in Wallonia and 290 in Brussels and Halle-Vilvoorde.
That is 39% fewer than in January 2026 (18,890).
Over the twelve months from March 2025 to February 2026 there were 142,777, 17% more than the twelve months before.
That is 18% more than in January 2026 (50).
Over the twelve months from March 2025 to February 2026 there were 604, 13% more than the twelve months before.
That is 33% fewer than in January 2026 (469).
Over the twelve months from March 2025 to February 2026 there were 4,626, 16% fewer than the twelve months before.
Citation
Checked.be, Checked Barometer February 2026 (edition of 5 November 2026), https://checked.be/en/barometer/2026-02
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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.
- 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 12 November 2026. The same definitions apply on every Checked market page.
- Incorporations in 12 months
- 153,357
- 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
- 1,976,530
- Enterprises active in the KBO on 12 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 February 2026 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 | 142,777 |
|---|---|
| came in or were struck off later, net | +2 |
| Counted today | 142,779 |
| In the edition | 12,222 |
|---|---|
| came in or were struck off later, net | 0 |
| Counted today | 12,222 |