Scientific research and development

NACE 72

Current registrations2,330

Starters, 12 months173

Employment (FTE)25,323

Median age9.5 years

In NACE division 72, 7.4 companies per 100 started in the past twelve months, against 7.5 nationally; that is higher than that of 50% of the 86 other NACE divisions. Comparison: as of 02-10-2026 18:11.

Key figures for NACE division 72

fiscal year 2025 · median over 1,056 filed annual accounts

Median solvency

56.7%

higher than 95% of 78 divisions

Median equity

€228,548

higher than 71% of 78 divisions

Median net result

€19,726

higher than 65% of 78 divisions

Annual accounts in sample

1,056

Foreign control in NACE division 72

1,717 registered companies

Companies with a foreign parent

2.6%

45 of 1,717; Belgium 0.3%

Staff at those companies

13%

3,223 of 24,417 FTE; Belgium 14%

Mostly from France (11), United States (8) and Netherlands (6).Show on the map by municipality

Staff cost per FTE in NACE division 72

300 employers

Median

€93,500

Belgium €61,100

Middle half

€72,800 to €117,600

half of the employers lie between

Place among sectors

2 of 78

by median staff cost per FTE

By size class
Size	Median	Middle half	Employers
fewer than 10 FTE	€91,900	€67,000 to €119,200	133
10 to 49 FTE	€92,000	€73,800 to €109,800	112
50 to 249 FTE	€91,500	€79,900 to €108,100	40

Employers with the highest staff cost per FTE in this division All sectors by staff cost In the Analysis workbench

Bankruptcies

past five years

Bankruptcies (5y)

Historical share

1.24%

Nationally, 1.61% of current registrations have a published bankruptcy opening in the past five years. This sector's historical share is higher than that of 54% of the 87 other NACE divisions. The median bankruptcy probability in NACE division 72 is 0.1%, against 0.2% nationally, over 1,636 scored companies. Comparison: as of 02-10-2026 18:11.

Regional split

by region · 1,951 of 2,330 enterprises with a registered office on file

Flanders 962 · 49.3%

Wallonia 617 · 31.6%

Brussels 345 · 17.7%

Unknown 27 · 1.4%

Recent bankruptcies in this sector

Date	Company
02-10-2026	BAFO TEAM BE 0734.508.051
23-09-2026	R & O LAB BE 0477.245.839
03-07-2026	TEXERE BE 1005.576.333
23-06-2026	Airlam BE 0739.575.411
22-06-2026	ABR PRODUCTIONS BE 0543.594.136
24-04-2026	San'Up BE 0693.818.729
17-04-2026	ARTIALIS BE 0830.584.472
07-04-2026	SciMed Services & Solutions BE 0744.556.360

Geographic distribution

by province · based on the establishment address

West Flanders WVL 126

East Flanders OVL 267

Antwerp ANT 236

Flemish Brabant VLB 236

Limburg LIM 97

Brussels BRU 345

Hainaut HAI 152

Walloon Brabant WBR 153

Namur NAM 84

Liège LIE 200

Luxembourg LUX 28

fewer moremax 345

Where are this sector's balance sheets registered? By municipality, down to the address

Subsidies in this sector

per register · legal entities with an enterprise number

Flemish subsidies €1.20bn awarded 258 recipients · 2022 to 2025 · largest: Subsidies voor Interuniversitair Micro-Elektronicacentrum (IMEC) vzw
Federal transfers 616.2m amount as published 35 recipients · 2023 to 2025 · largest: Subsidie aan het Studiecentrum voor Kernenergie (SCK) (cf. art. 2.32.1 van de Algemene Uitgaven-
Wallonia-Brussels Federation €203.7m paid 18 recipients · 2021 to 2025 · largest: Subvention légale au Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique (FRS-FNRS), en ce compris les chercheurs permanents (Décret du 17/07/2013)
EU budget €1.36bn attributed share 125 recipients · 2021 to 2025 · largest: Horizon Europe
EU research €2.72bn eu contribution 180 recipients · 2007 to 2027 · largest: Horizon Europe

Explore every recipient in this sector

How these figures are counted

Current enterprise registrations are counted through their registered main activities; establishment units are excluded. Counted in the KBO's NACE 2025 nomenclature, the one in which code 72 exists.

Share of currently registered companies with a published bankruptcy opening in the past five years. Registered main activities in the selected classification can overlap. This retrospective share is not a future bankruptcy probability.

The comparison with the country and with the other NACE divisions comes from a nightly overview of every division, each counted in the nomenclature in which it exists. A standing such as "higher than 80%" counts the other divisions that have the figure. The bankruptcy probability is the median of our nightly score over the division's companies that have one; the count is stated.

The middle company of the sector, based on all filed annual accounts.