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 October 2026
published on 06-11-2026 · 1,149 bankruptcies and 19,301 incorporationsFigures by region
| Area | Bankruptcies | Incorporations | Reorganisations | Dissolutions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flanders | 517-15% | 9,043not complete yet | 8-50% | 124+15% |
| Wallonia | 275-11% | 5,915not complete yet | 21-22% | 178+17% |
| Brussels | 357+1.1% | 4,011not complete yet | 19+90% | 231+14% |
| No known area | 0 | 332not complete yet | 0 | 0 |
| Belgium | 1,149-9.2% | 19,301not complete yet | 48-9.4% | 533+15% |
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 ≥ 208186
- Accommodation and food service ≥ 145139
- Wholesale and retail trade ≥ 135147
- Professional and technical services ≥ 5853
- Administrative and support services ≥ 5754
- Transport and storage ≥ 5639
- Other services ≥ 4026
- Manufacturing ≥ 3334
- Telecoms and IT ≥ 1617
- Real estate ≥ 1617
Show 9 more
In grey: October 2025. The sector is known for 70% of the cases of October 2026 (340 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 59% in October 2025. A comparison per sector would therefore not be meaningful.
The incorporations of October 2026 were not complete yet. This edition therefore does not compare them per sector.
Insights from October 2026
In October 2026, the Belgian Official Gazette published 1,149 bankruptcies, 9.2% fewer than in October 2025.
As of 6 November 2026, October 2026 counted 19,301 incorporations. The month was not complete yet.
In October 2026, the Belgian Official Gazette published 48 judicial reorganisations, 9.4% fewer than in October 2025.
In October 2026, the Belgian Official Gazette published 533 judicial dissolutions, 15% more than in October 2025.
9 more sentences
That is 8.6% more than in September 2026 (1,058).
Over the twelve months from November 2025 to October 2026 there were 12,147, 1.6% more than the twelve months before.
In October 2026 there were 517 bankruptcies in Flanders, 275 in Wallonia and 357 in Brussels and Halle-Vilvoorde.
In August 2026, the last complete month, 9,389 companies were incorporated, 15% more than in August 2025.
Over the twelve months from September 2025 to August 2026 there were 152,934, 18% more than the twelve months before.
That is 14% more than in September 2026 (42).
Over the twelve months from November 2025 to October 2026 there were 659, 17% more than the twelve months before.
That is 112% more than in September 2026 (251).
Over the twelve months from November 2025 to October 2026 there were 4,914, 4.3% fewer than the twelve months before.
Revisions
After publication, more data arrived for this month. The edition's figures stay as published. This is today's count.
- Incorporations, Belgium: published 19,301, counted 19,752 on 14 November 2026 (registrations that appeared in the KBO later).
- Incorporations, Brussels and Halle-Vilvoorde: published 4,011, counted 4,098 on 14 November 2026 (registrations that appeared in the KBO later).
- Incorporations, Flanders: published 9,043, counted 9,235 on 14 November 2026 (registrations that appeared in the KBO later).
- Incorporations, Wallonia: published 5,915, counted 6,053 on 14 November 2026 (registrations that appeared in the KBO later).
Citation
Checked.be, Checked Barometer October 2026 (edition of 6 November 2026), https://checked.be/en/barometer/2026-10
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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.
- Incorporations: the sector is known for only 58% of the cases of October 2026. 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 October 2026 has been fixed since 6 November 2026. The difference with today's count over the same twelve months is registrations and judgments that came in later.
| In the edition | 152,964 |
|---|---|
| came in or were struck off later, net | +505 |
| Counted today | 153,469 |
| In the edition | 12,147 |
|---|---|
| came in or were struck off later, net | 0 |
| Counted today | 12,147 |