Sector figures

NACE 2025 · Belgian sectors

Compare every Belgian sector by NACE division on size, employment, starters, profitability, financial strength, structure and risk. Open a sector for the detail.

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This view shows Belgium · All sectors. Sector figures are national, so the place does not apply here.

Active companies

1,976,310

1,276,359 with a main activity in 88 NACE divisions, 699,951 without a published activity

Incorporations, 12 months

153,529

of which 148,010 still active

Employment

2,549,996

full-time equivalents at 88,573 employers, latest accounts

Median solvency

46.1%

over 565,447 annual accounts, financial year 2025

Every sector at a glance

Each tile is a sector. The colour follows the figure you choose.

Tile colour

Starters: Companies that started in the past twelve months and are registered today, per 100 current registrations. Divisions counted in an older NACE classification get no starter figure. Starters are registered in the current one.

Click a tile to open the sector · as of 15-11-2026 05:30

Leading divisions by theme

Each leaderboard shows the five divisions leading on one aspect. Only divisions of a minimum size count, so a small division does not top a list on a handful of cases.

Largest employers

Full-time equivalents according to the latest accounts

Every division

88 NACE divisions in 22 sections, as of 15-11-2026 05:30. Search by name or code, sort by a column.

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A Agriculture, forestry and fishing 3 divisions · 49,862 active

DivisionActiveStarters 12 monthsFTESolvencyEquityNet resultLateBankruptcies per 1,000 ↓Bankruptcy probability

03 Fishing and aquaculture 223 4.5% 475 39.3% €334,154 €131 55.0% 4.5 0.57%

02 Forestry 2,393 4.8% 865 46.2% €201,926 €13,244 36.8% 3.8 0.12%

01 Crop and animal production 47,246 4.0% 14,748 36.6% €197,788 €15,936 37.0% 1.0 0.14%

B Mining and quarrying 5 divisions · 293 active

DivisionActiveStarters 12 monthsFTESolvencyEquityNet resultLateBankruptcies per 1,000 ↓Bankruptcy probability

05 Mining of coal 2 0.0% 9.6---- 0.0-

06 Extraction of oil and gas 4 25.0% 1---- 0.0-

07 Mining of metal ores 5 0.0% 14---- 0.0-

08 Other mining and quarrying 229 2.2% 3,036 51.0% €975,290 €31,710 30.5% 0.0 0.17%

09 Mining support services 53 3.8% 86---- 0.0 0.11%

C Manufacturing 24 divisions · 62,900 active

DivisionActiveStarters 12 monthsFTESolvencyEquityNet resultLateBankruptcies per 1,000 ↓Bankruptcy probability

27 Electrical equipment 1,059 4.2% 12,036 42.7% €239,644 €17,220 37.3% 11.3 0.41%

22 Rubber and plastics 1,325 12.3% 18,916 47.6% €757,380 €36,126 34.2% 10.6 0.28%

10 Food products 9,633 8.4% 71,131 33.3% €128,504 €17,804 38.2% 10.3 0.94%

28 Machinery and equipment 2,289 3.3% 31,234 44.5% €465,557 €35,087 32.5% 8.7 0.28%

29 Motor vehicles 742 5.4% 23,078 42.3% €386,465 €29,023 36.3% 8.1 0.25%

33 Repair and installation of machinery 7,275 9.1% 9,966 42.3% €102,323 €22,497 39.2% 7.1 0.69%

25 Fabricated metal products 10,807 5.0% 41,731 44.8% €223,776 €22,774 35.0% 7.1 0.43%

24 Basic metals 597 3.9% 22,016 43.8% €487,439 €23,139 29.8% 6.7 0.50%

20 Chemicals 1,262 5.5% 43,833 47.3% €1.1m €53,164 26.7% 6.3 0.25%

15 Leather and related products 335 14.9% 278 42.2% €85,465 €1,862- 6.0 0.44%

31 Furniture 2,943 4.7% 6,747 39.8% €129,423 €9,493 37.0% 5.8 0.54%

21 Pharmaceuticals 375 2.9% 30,793 44.0% €444,407 €23,776 32.2% 5.3 0.32%

11 Beverages 1,376 5.7% 8,697 21.6% €35,580 -€1,278 43.1% 5.1 0.57%

26 Computer and electronic products 995 4.5% 12,615 50.0% €244,425 €17,729 34.6% 5.0 0.15%

17 Paper 413 2.9% 9,530 48.8% €1.1m €60,532 35.2% 4.8 0.28%

13 Textiles 2,358 7.7% 11,559 47.5% €324,268 €16,959 31.8% 4.2 0.17%

18 Printing 4,932 4.1% 8,139 46.3% €93,243 €8,157 38.2% 4.1 0.32%

16 Wood and cork 3,346 5.7% 9,900 42.8% €164,557 €14,170 37.5% 3.9 0.45%

23 Non-metallic mineral products 2,979 8.7% 21,866 46.9% €366,801 €19,571 34.3% 3.7 0.16%

32 Other manufacturing 5,405 12.6% 7,065 43.0% €113,513 €13,515 39.5% 3.3 0.31%

14 Clothing 2,020 8.3% 2,495 37.2% €69,975 €4,983 35.4% 2.5 0.27%

12 Tobacco 27 0.0% 1,222---- 0.0-

19 Coke and refined petroleum 34 2.9% 4,983---- 0.0-

30 Other transport equipment 373 6.7% 6,270 35.3% €158,739 €2,981 30.1% 0.0 0.56%

D Energy 1 division · 1,764 active

DivisionActiveStarters 12 monthsFTESolvencyEquityNet resultLateBankruptcies per 1,000 ↓Bankruptcy probability

35 Electricity, gas and steam 1,764 9.5% 21,304 32.2% €446,628 €22,415 27.0% 3.4 0.22%

E Water and waste 4 divisions · 2,373 active

DivisionActiveStarters 12 monthsFTESolvencyEquityNet resultLateBankruptcies per 1,000 ↓Bankruptcy probability

39 Remediation 251 6.8% 1,308 35.9% €156,925 €27,308 34.2% 19.9 0.74%

38 Waste collection and treatment 1,628 7.6% 16,587 38.7% €621,959 €33,100 32.3% 9.2 0.40%

36 Water collection and supply 134 3.0% 7,587 52.6% €438,151 €42,144- 7.5 0.26%

37 Sewerage 360 6.4% 3,158 42.5% €320,505 €35,833 38.3% 2.8 0.21%

F Construction 3 divisions · 166,667 active

DivisionActiveStarters 12 monthsFTESolvencyEquityNet resultLateBankruptcies per 1,000 ↓Bankruptcy probability

41 Construction of buildings 31,749 9.2% 34,004 40.0% €69,795 €11,258 46.5% 15.3 1.40%

42 Civil engineering 5,863 7.5% 33,805 42.5% €128,674 €21,765 40.6% 14.7 0.67%

43 Specialised construction 129,055 9.0% 101,526 45.2% €81,972 €13,144 42.6% 10.3 0.69%

G Wholesale and retail trade 3 divisions · 201,276 active

DivisionActiveStarters 12 monthsFTESolvencyEquityNet resultLateBankruptcies per 1,000 ↓Bankruptcy probability

45 Wholesale/retail of motor vehicles 24,438- 56,000 36.0% €134,045 €14,325- 9.7 0.54%

47 Retail trade 115,379 9.0% 222,445 35.0% €98,023 €11,203 46.8% 8.3 0.61%

46 Wholesale trade 61,459 4.6% 202,645 42.2% €206,737 €17,164 39.2% 7.5 0.34%

H Transport and storage 5 divisions · 36,596 active

DivisionActiveStarters 12 monthsFTESolvencyEquityNet resultLateBankruptcies per 1,000 ↓Bankruptcy probability

53 Postal and courier 5,388 28.1% 28,686 31.5% €39,391 €7,382 56.2% 18.7 2.79%

49 Land transport 23,146 11.7% 92,757 37.2% €67,421 €9,944 49.1% 18.7 1.64%

52 Warehousing and transport support 6,297 9.4% 70,869 39.2% €229,445 €25,524 35.9% 9.5 0.75%

50 Water transport 1,249 6.4% 1,360 42.7% €351,427 €21,145 40.6% 6.4 0.20%

51 Air transport 516 7.8% 5,536 36.0% €66,430 €5,958 34.9% 0.0 0.38%

I Accommodation and food service 2 divisions · 68,385 active

DivisionActiveStarters 12 monthsFTESolvencyEquityNet resultLateBankruptcies per 1,000 ↓Bankruptcy probability

56 Food and beverage service 59,855 9.2% 59,338 29.2% €36,448 €5,928 52.7% 23.2 1.63%

55 Accommodation 8,530 7.6% 18,381 24.5% €116,327 €3,646 45.0% 4.7 0.53%

J Publishing and media 3 divisions · 13,230 active

DivisionActiveStarters 12 monthsFTESolvencyEquityNet resultLateBankruptcies per 1,000 ↓Bankruptcy probability

58 Publishing 3,802 13.5% 8,704 45.6% €77,447 €7,995 36.8% 3.4 0.11%

59 Film, video and music 7,989 11.5% 4,029 43.0% €54,162 €6,127 41.1% 3.3 0.28%

60 Programming and broadcasting 1,439 17.3% 4,376 48.1% €77,971 €4,585 44.4% 2.8 0.08%

K Telecoms and IT 3 divisions · 58,563 active

DivisionActiveStarters 12 monthsFTESolvencyEquityNet resultLateBankruptcies per 1,000 ↓Bankruptcy probability

61 Telecommunications 1,978 16.1% 19,144 41.0% €79,099 €9,568 46.9% 11.6 0.70%

63 Computing infrastructure and information services 7,851 9.7% 10,793 51.1% €80,531 €19,987 32.2% 4.1 0.18%

62 Computer programming and consultancy 48,734 10.8% 60,654 55.6% €79,770 €28,090 33.3% 3.9 0.09%

L Finance and insurance 3 divisions · 35,757 active

DivisionActiveStarters 12 monthsFTESolvencyEquityNet resultLateBankruptcies per 1,000 ↓Bankruptcy probability

64 Financial services 26,061 3.0% 30,648 52.6% €329,062 €42,407 28.2% 2.8 0.16%

65 Insurance and pension funding 440 1.4% 705 47.6% €187,599 €46,654 27.6% 2.3-

66 Auxiliary financial services 9,256 4.7% 15,477 44.7% €190,563 €46,572 38.8% 1.6 0.16%

M Real estate 1 division · 55,053 active

DivisionActiveStarters 12 monthsFTESolvencyEquityNet resultLateBankruptcies per 1,000 ↓Bankruptcy probability

68 Real estate 55,053 5.2% 26,049 31.4% €167,230 €8,421 36.2% 3.7 0.22%

N Professional and technical services 7 divisions · 236,183 active

DivisionActiveStarters 12 monthsFTESolvencyEquityNet resultLateBankruptcies per 1,000 ↓Bankruptcy probability

72 Research and development 2,307 7.6% 24,245 54.3% €258,796 €16,948 32.4% 3.9 0.12%

73 Advertising and market research 26,144 7.8% 25,541 49.6% €76,506 €15,737 36.0% 3.3 0.23%

70 Head offices and management consultancy 88,199 10.4% 53,980 54.1% €113,148 €29,677 31.9% 3.0 0.10%

71 Architecture and engineering 39,525 7.2% 39,247 50.9% €83,963 €18,833 33.6% 2.4 0.12%

74 Other professional activities 31,176 10.9% 4,006 46.4% €51,852 €10,105 38.2% 2.3 0.20%

69 Legal and accounting 42,728 8.0% 27,616 53.5% €112,801 €43,714 32.5% 1.0 0.04%

75 Veterinary activities 6,104 9.5% 1,284 50.5% €96,596 €33,756 35.5% 0.2 0.05%

O Administrative and support services 6 divisions · 93,971 active

DivisionActiveStarters 12 monthsFTESolvencyEquityNet resultLateBankruptcies per 1,000 ↓Bankruptcy probability

80 Security and investigation 1,127 7.6% 18,944 40.1% €85,856 €13,733 42.0% 10.6 0.29%

78 Employment activities 3,216 7.2% 176,812 38.2% €91,274 €18,862 30.3% 9.0 0.31%

81 Building services and landscaping 36,822 13.5% 70,961 40.2% €67,157 €12,270 43.5% 7.5 0.89%

82 Office administrative support 40,638 10.9% 34,388 47.0% €80,874 €17,991 35.0% 4.6 0.18%

77 Rental and leasing 8,424 7.8% 13,481 33.6% €135,947 €10,231 38.9% 4.4 0.47%

79 Travel agencies 3,744 8.9% 5,516 33.0% €127,638 €13,969 35.1% 3.2 0.20%

P Public administration 1 division · 2,285 active

DivisionActiveStarters 12 monthsFTESolvencyEquityNet resultLateBankruptcies per 1,000 ↓Bankruptcy probability

84 Public administration and defence 2,285 0.4% 9,441 53.7% €1.1m €34,507 19.8% 0.9 0.03%

Q Education 1 division · 35,442 active

DivisionActiveStarters 12 monthsFTESolvencyEquityNet resultLateBankruptcies per 1,000 ↓Bankruptcy probability

85 Education 35,442 11.4% 27,952 46.5% €66,640 €8,919 32.1% 1.2 0.04%

R Health and social work 3 divisions · 80,349 active

DivisionActiveStarters 12 monthsFTESolvencyEquityNet resultLateBankruptcies per 1,000 ↓Bankruptcy probability

87 Residential care 2,025 1.2% 117,529 47.4% €1.2m €38,017 25.1% 3.5 0.03%

88 Social work without accommodation 5,536 5.9% 111,832 49.9% €263,666 €16,227 25.6% 0.7 0.03%

86 Human health 72,788 7.3% 138,633 62.1% €144,937 €63,056 36.0% 0.5 0.04%

S Arts, sports and recreation 4 divisions · 53,194 active

DivisionActiveStarters 12 monthsFTESolvencyEquityNet resultLateBankruptcies per 1,000 ↓Bankruptcy probability

92 Gambling and betting 498 5.6% 2,316 62.7% €240,336 €14,617 46.8% 4.0 0.45%

93 Sports and recreation 22,620 6.8% 15,794 29.0% €60,106 €5,690 42.5% 2.8 0.06%

90 Creative and performing arts 29,113 9.6% 7,599 46.3% €63,108 €7,906 38.3% 1.8 0.05%

91 Libraries, archives and museums 963 3.8% 3,203 53.5% €479,301 €10,636 29.4% 1.0 0.03%

T Other services 3 divisions · 100,899 active

DivisionActiveStarters 12 monthsFTESolvencyEquityNet resultLateBankruptcies per 1,000 ↓Bankruptcy probability

95 Repair of computers and personal goods 20,326 11.1% 14,231 39.0% €98,378 €13,672 47.1% 6.2 0.58%

96 Personal services 70,798 10.7% 33,172 28.2% €22,393 €3,550 48.2% 3.5 0.62%

94 Membership organisations 9,775 2.2% 17,295 63.6% €577,932 €9,836 25.7% 0.7 0.03%

U Households 2 divisions · 4,979 active

DivisionActiveStarters 12 monthsFTESolvencyEquityNet resultLateBankruptcies per 1,000 ↓Bankruptcy probability

97 Households as employers 4,974 12.0% 9,586 23.2% €197,206 €28,892- 0.4 0.25%

98 Household production for own use 5 20.0% 39---- 0.0-

V Extraterritorial organisations 1 division · 343 active

DivisionActiveStarters 12 monthsFTESolvencyEquityNet resultLateBankruptcies per 1,000 ↓Bankruptcy probability

99 Extraterritorial organisations 343 0.0% 22---- 0.0-

The dot's colour follows the map. A figure with a better and a worse side is compared with Belgium, any other figure with the other divisions.

Method and sources

The figures per division come from an overview counted again every night, as of 15-11-2026 05:30.

Each division is counted in the version of the NACE classification in which it exists. A division's bankruptcy probability is the median of the bankruptcy probabilities Checked computes per company. The accounts medians rest on the annual accounts filed with the National Bank. A median is shown only from 30 companies.

The historical share is the share of current registrations for which a bankruptcy opening was published in the past five years. A company with more than one main activity counts in each of those sectors. The historical share is not a future bankruptcy probability.

Starters are the companies that started in the twelve complete months before the count and are still registered today. They are the same twelve months as on every market page. Bankruptcies over twelve months are current registrations for which a bankruptcy opening was published in those months. A division without a figure gets a dash.

Definitions

All figures cover the same twelve months, November 2025 to October 2026, and were counted on 15 November 2026. The same definitions apply on every Checked market page.

Incorporations in 12 months: 153,529; 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: 1,911,554; Enterprises registered in the KBO on 15 November 2026 and not listed there as bankrupt, dissolved or merged, sole traders included.

Sector figures

Every sector at a glance

Leading divisions by theme

Largest employers

Fastest inflow

Most profitable divisions

Strongest balance sheets

Most bankruptcies

Every division

Definitions

On this page

Incorporations	153,529
stopped or struck off since	-5,519
Still active	148,010