Skip to content

Sector figures

NACE 2025 · Belgian sectors

How large, how young, how profitable and how healthy is each Belgian sector? Compare every NACE division on size, employment, starters, profitability, financial health, structure and risk, and open a sector for the detail.

Active companies
1,969,367
across 88 NACE divisions
Incorporations, 12 months
152,426
of which 147,628 still active (7.5% of active companies)
Employment
2,342,941
full-time equivalents at 83,237 employers, fiscal year 2024
Median solvency
46.3%
over 550,473 annual accounts, fiscal year 2024

Every sector at a glance

Each tile is a sector. Its size represents the number of companies or employees. Its colour represents the indicator you choose below.

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.

Larger tile = more active companies in this sector.

N · PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL SERVICES G · WHOLESALE AND RETAIL TRADE F · CONSTRUCTION T · OTHER SERVICES O · ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPPORT… R · HEALTH AND SOCIAL WORK I · ACCOMMODATION AND… C · MANUFACTURING K · TELECOMS AND IT M · REAL ESTATE S · ARTS, SPORTS AND… A · AGRICULTURE, FO… L · FINANCE AND INSURANCE Q · EDUCATION Head offices and… 10.3% Legal and acco… 8.0% Architecture… 7.4% Other profess… 10.9% Advertising and… 7.7% Veterinary… Retail trade 9.0% Wholesale trade 4.6% Wholesale/retail of… Specialised construction 9.0% Construction of buildings 9.3% Personal services 10.8% Repair… 11.0% Members… 2.2% Office administrative… 11.1% Building services and… 13.7% Human health 7.3% Food and beverage s… 9.0% Accommodation Fabricate… 5.3% Food pro… 8.3% Repa… 9.4% Othe… 12.7% Prin… 4.4% Computer program… 10.5% Real estate 5.2% Creative and perfo… 9.6% Sports and recre… 6.9% Crop and animal p… 4.0% Land transpo… 11.6% Ware… 9.2% Posta… 25.6% Financial servic… 3.0% Auxi… 4.6% Education 11.4% Film,… 11.0% Househ… N · PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL S… G · WHOLESALE AND RETAIL TR… F · CONSTRUCTION T · OTHER SERVICES O · ADMINISTRATIVE AN… R · HEALTH AND SOCIAL… I · ACCOMMODATION AND… C · MANUFACTURING Head offices and m… 10.3% Legal a… 8.0% Architect… 7.4% Other… 10.9% Adverti… 7.7% Retail trade 9.0% Wholesale trade 4.6% Whol… Specialised construction 9.0% Const… 9.3% Personal ser… 10.8% Office… 11.1% Building… 13.7% Human health 7.3% Food and beverag… 9.0% Computer pr… 10.5% Real estate 5.2% Creative a… 9.6% Sports an… 6.9% Crop and a… 4.0% Land t… 11.6% Financial… 3.0% Education 11.4%

Click a tile to open the sector · as of 02-10-2026 05:30

Leaderboards

The five divisions leading on each aspect, with a minimum size so a small division does not top a list on a handful of cases.

Every division by section

88 NACE divisions in 22 sections. Search by name or code, sort by a column.

A Agriculture, forestry and fishing 3 divisions · 50,202 active
01 Crop and animal production 47,569 4.0% 16,527 35.5% 36.8% 1.1
02 Forestry 2,410 4.6% 1,147 44.4% 37.0% 3.7
03 Fishing and aquaculture 223 4.0% 489 42.7% 54.1% 9.0
B Mining and quarrying 5 divisions · 300 active
08 Other mining and quarrying 234 3.0% 3,290 50.6% 30.3% 0.0
09 Mining support services 55 3.6% 102 44.3%- 0.0
07 Mining of metal ores 5 0.00% 11-- 0.0
06 Extraction of oil and gas 4 25.0% 2-- 0.0
05 Mining of coal 2 0.00% 7-- 0.0
C Manufacturing 24 divisions · 63,638 active
25 Fabricated metal products 10,961 5.3% 59,485 44.9% 35.0% 8.2
10 Food products 9,727 8.3% 76,750 33.9% 38.0% 12
33 Repair and installation of machinery 7,328 9.4% 16,622 42.9% 39.1% 7.9
32 Other manufacturing 5,446 12.7% 9,583 42.1% 39.7% 3.3
18 Printing 5,034 4.4% 9,396 46.3% 37.7% 4.0
16 Wood and cork 3,372 5.9% 11,854 43.5% 36.9% 5.0
31 Furniture 3,012 4.5% 8,922 38.5% 36.7% 6.0
23 Non-metallic mineral products 2,985 8.4% 25,375 46.4% 34.0% 4.7
13 Textiles 2,390 8.2% 15,154 45.8% 31.6% 4.2
28 Machinery and equipment 2,317 3.5% 38,045 45.1% 32.3% 7.3
14 Clothing 2,053 8.4% 3,120 36.1% 35.5% 2.4
11 Beverages 1,397 5.9% 10,898 23.5% 42.9% 5.7
22 Rubber and plastics 1,320 11.6% 22,296 47.1% 34.3% 11
20 Chemicals 1,277 5.3% 47,050 45.9% 27.0% 6.3
27 Electrical equipment 1,075 4.4% 15,126 41.9% 36.8% 15
26 Computer and electronic products 1,010 4.9% 16,334 47.7% 34.5% 5.9
29 Motor vehicles 745 5.2% 27,381 41.0% 36.4% 13
24 Basic metals 613 4.4% 25,317 41.6% 29.3% 8.2
17 Paper 419 3.3% 11,303 44.4% 34.7% 9.5
30 Other transport equipment 380 7.9% 6,227 33.9% 30.3% 2.6
21 Pharmaceuticals 376 2.7% 33,093 43.2% 31.9% 13
15 Leather and related products 337 14.8% 1,057 42.6%- 5.9
19 Coke and refined petroleum 37 2.7% 5,015-- 0.0
12 Tobacco 27 0.00% 1,298-- 0.0
D Energy 1 division · 1,791 active
E Water and waste 4 divisions · 2,395 active
38 Waste collection and treatment 1,648 7.6% 18,799 40.0% 32.7% 10
37 Sewerage 361 6.1% 2,897 39.8% 37.8% 2.8
39 Remediation 252 6.3% 1,304 31.2% 35.8% 20
36 Water collection and supply 134 3.7% 4,281 44.9%- 7.5
F Construction 3 divisions · 168,474 active
43 Specialised construction 130,198 9.0% 120,076 44.8% 42.5% 11
41 Construction of buildings 32,318 9.3% 40,752 39.6% 46.5% 16
42 Civil engineering 5,958 7.5% 41,707 43.1% 40.7% 15
G Wholesale and retail trade 3 divisions · 205,023 active
47 Retail trade 117,234 9.0% 243,402 34.2% 46.6% 9.4
46 Wholesale trade 62,728 4.6% 238,560 41.2% 39.1% 8.3
45 Wholesale/retail of motor vehicles 25,061- 55,205 33.9%- 10
H Transport and storage 5 divisions · 37,183 active
49 Land transport 23,664 11.6% 124,806 37.2% 49.0% 20
52 Warehousing and transport support 6,357 9.2% 76,741 38.5% 35.8% 12
53 Postal and courier 5,373 25.6% 31,124 31.2% 55.7% 26
50 Water transport 1,262 6.5% 1,729 39.8% 40.9% 5.5
51 Air transport 527 7.0% 5,011 38.5% 35.3% 1.9
I Accommodation and food service 2 divisions · 69,383 active
56 Food and beverage service 60,758 9.0% 57,667 28.9% 52.5% 25
55 Accommodation 8,625 7.7% 19,214 23.9% 44.7% 5.0
J Publishing and media 3 divisions · 13,194 active
59 Film, video and music 7,989 11.0% 4,663 44.6% 40.9% 3.9
58 Publishing 3,774 11.9% 9,001 45.8% 36.7% 4.0
60 Programming and broadcasting 1,431 16.6% 4,660 46.9% 44.9% 4.2
K Telecoms and IT 3 divisions · 58,740 active
62 Computer programming and consultancy 48,718 10.5% 75,718 58.2% 33.2% 4.0
63 Computing infrastructure and information services 7,976 9.5% 14,488 53.3% 32.1% 4.5
61 Telecommunications 2,046 15.8% 18,617 41.2% 46.9% 11
L Finance and insurance 3 divisions · 36,245 active
64 Financial services 26,380 3.0% 33,505 54.4% 28.1% 3.1
66 Auxiliary financial services 9,415 4.6% 17,048 44.3% 38.5% 1.9
65 Insurance and pension funding 450 1.8% 880 42.0% 27.9% 2.2
M Real estate 1 division · 55,433 active
68 Real estate 55,433 5.2% 26,348 31.2% 36.0% 4.0
N Professional and technical services 7 divisions · 236,949 active
70 Head offices and management consultancy 88,226 10.3% 83,056 55.9% 31.8% 3.3
69 Legal and accounting 42,790 8.0% 26,000 55.3% 32.4% 1.1
71 Architecture and engineering 39,682 7.4% 52,708 51.2% 33.5% 2.5
74 Other professional activities 31,371 10.9% 6,744 46.6% 38.0% 2.5
73 Advertising and market research 26,448 7.7% 26,369 50.8% 35.9% 3.7
75 Veterinary activities 6,102 9.3% 1,353 51.7% 35.5% 0.0
72 Research and development 2,330 7.4% 25,323 55.2% 32.4% 4.3
O Administrative and support services 6 divisions · 94,951 active
82 Office administrative support 41,103 11.1% 42,036 47.4% 34.9% 5.0
81 Building services and landscaping 37,128 13.7% 69,728 40.2% 43.5% 8.5
77 Rental and leasing 8,555 7.8% 15,591 34.0% 38.5% 4.6
79 Travel agencies 3,747 8.2% 5,554 33.0% 35.3% 3.5
78 Employment activities 3,268 7.1% 197,447 41.9% 30.1% 9.2
80 Security and investigation 1,150 7.5% 15,399 42.8% 42.2% 15
P Public administration 1 division · 2,300 active
Q Education 1 division · 35,426 active
85 Education 35,426 11.4% 31,795 48.7% 32.3% 1.3
R Health and social work 3 divisions · 80,523 active
86 Human health 72,866 7.3% 109,920 66.2% 35.9% 0.7
88 Social work without accommodation 5,613 6.2% 123,180 49.0% 25.4% 2.9
87 Residential care 2,044 1.3% 115,389 46.0% 24.8% 4.9
S Arts, sports and recreation 4 divisions · 53,397 active
90 Creative and performing arts 29,168 9.6% 10,800 45.9% 38.4% 2.0
93 Sports and recreation 22,757 6.9% 16,110 28.7% 42.1% 3.0
91 Libraries, archives and museums 967 3.7% 4,764 52.0% 30.1% 1.0
92 Gambling and betting 505 4.8% 2,545 58.7% 45.7% 5.9
T Other services 3 divisions · 101,451 active
96 Personal services 71,057 10.8% 82,271 27.0% 48.1% 4.1
95 Repair of computers and personal goods 20,530 11.0% 18,391 37.7% 47.0% 7.4
94 Membership organisations 9,864 2.2% 25,248 61.8% 25.3% 1.0
U Households 2 divisions · 4,999 active
V Extraterritorial organisations 1 division · 354 active

The dot colours the figure as on the map: against Belgium for a figure with a better and a worse side, otherwise against the other divisions.

Table: every division, every figureSortable

Every NACE division compared

88 divisions, as of 02-10-2026 05:30. Click a column header to sort.

Download as CSV

Division Current registrations ↓ Starters per 100 (12 mo) Employment (FTE) Median solvency Median equity Median net result Bankruptcies, historical share Bankruptcy probability (median)
Belgium, unique registrations 1,969,367 7.5 2,342,941 46.33% €101,497 €15,662 1.61% 0.44%
43 Specialised construction activities 130,198 9.0 120,076 44.79% €81,767 €12,702 3.04% 1.09%
47 Retail trade 117,234 9.0 243,402 34.22% €92,478 €10,686 2.35% 0.83%
70 Activities of head offices; management consultancy activities 88,226 10.3 83,056 55.90% €125,029 €29,057 0.74% 0.21%
86 Human health activities 72,866 7.3 109,920 66.17% €167,374 €62,502 0.18% 0.08%
96 Personal service activities 71,057 10.8 82,271 27.01% €21,282 €4,084 0.88% 0.71%
46 Wholesale trade 62,728 4.6 238,560 41.24% €197,445 €16,298 2.22% 0.56%
56 Food and beverage service activities 60,758 9.0 57,667 28.86% €35,276 €6,808 6.23% 2.30%
68 Real estate activities 55,433 5.2 26,348 31.19% €167,412 €6,813 1.10% 0.32%
62 Computer programming, consultancy and related activities 48,718 10.5 75,718 58.19% €85,759 €27,559 0.79% 0.29%
01 Crop and animal production, hunting and related service activities 47,569 4.0 16,527 35.48% €187,053 €15,123 0.34% 0.12%
69 Legal and accounting activities 42,790 8.0 26,000 55.28% €123,044 €40,903 0.33% 0.16%
82 Office administrative, office support and other business support activities 41,103 11.1 42,036 47.38% €86,037 €17,193 1.14% 0.34%
71 Architectural and engineering activities; technical testing and analysis 39,682 7.4 52,708 51.18% €88,550 €17,982 0.65% 0.28%
81 Services to buildings and landscape activities 37,128 13.7 69,728 40.16% €67,288 €11,684 2.14% 1.12%
85 Education 35,426 11.4 31,795 48.70% €81,725 €8,996 0.25% 0.04%
41 Construction of residential and non-residential buildings 32,318 9.3 40,752 39.65% €67,949 €10,496 4.26% 1.39%
74 Other professional, scientific and technical activities 31,371 10.9 6,744 46.65% €53,542 €10,291 0.59% 0.34%
90 Arts creation and performing arts activities 29,168 9.6 10,800 45.94% €66,483 €8,660 0.50% 0.04%
73 Advertising, market research and public relations activities 26,448 7.7 26,369 50.77% €81,376 €15,409 1.05% 0.56%
64 Financial service activities, except insurance and pension funding 26,380 3.0 33,505 54.39% €334,836 €40,572 0.83% 0.19%
45 Wholesale/retail of motor vehicles 25,061 - 55,205 33.92% €114,123 €13,261 2.85% 0.64%
49 Land transport and transport via pipelines 23,664 11.6 124,806 37.17% €67,852 €9,957 4.64% 1.78%
93 Sports, amusement and recreation activities 22,757 6.9 16,110 28.67% €61,500 €6,140 0.81% 0.04%
95 Repair and maintenance of computers, personal and household goods, and motor vehicles and motorcycles 20,530 11.0 18,391 37.70% €93,676 €13,865 1.83% 0.53%
25 Manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment 10,961 5.3 59,485 44.95% €226,661 €22,347 2.39% 0.66%
94 Activities of membership organisations 9,864 2.2 25,248 61.77% €591,984 €9,698 0.16% 0.00%
10 Manufacture of food products 9,727 8.3 76,750 33.89% €123,825 €21,101 2.77% 0.88%
66 Activities auxiliary to financial services and insurance activities 9,415 4.6 17,048 44.30% €190,722 €44,481 0.38% 0.28%
55 Accommodation 8,625 7.7 19,214 23.87% €108,742 €4,403 1.24% 0.59%
77 Rental and leasing activities 8,555 7.8 15,591 34.05% €134,382 €10,737 1.26% 0.70%
59 Motion picture, video and television programme production, sound recording and music publishing activities 7,989 11.0 4,663 44.58% €55,970 €6,745 0.90% 0.34%
63 Computing infrastructure, data processing, hosting and other information service activities 7,976 9.5 14,488 53.26% €81,816 €19,131 0.97% 0.30%
33 Repair, maintenance and installation of machinery and equipment 7,328 9.4 16,622 42.92% €103,256 €21,024 2.16% 0.98%
52 Warehousing and support activities for transportation 6,357 9.2 76,741 38.53% €224,810 €25,429 2.94% 0.82%
75 Veterinary activities 6,102 9.3 1,353 51.71% €104,059 €32,384 0.05% 0.07%
42 Civil engineering 5,958 7.5 41,707 43.13% €127,519 €23,231 3.39% 0.83%
88 Social work activities without accommodation 5,613 6.2 123,180 49.05% €262,464 €20,719 0.41% 0.02%
32 Other manufacturing 5,446 12.7 9,583 42.08% €112,441 €11,420 0.68% 0.40%
53 Postal and courier activities 5,373 25.6 31,124 31.23% €38,447 €7,798 5.62% 2.90%
18 Printing and reproduction of recorded media 5,034 4.4 9,396 46.33% €96,619 €9,210 1.29% 0.40%
97 Activities of households as employers of domestic personnel 4,995 12.1 7,557 31.12% €192,404 €48,682 0.08% 0.64%
58 Publishing activities 3,774 11.9 9,001 45.81% €84,085 €7,691 1.01% 0.34%
79 Travel agency, tour operator and other reservation service and related activities 3,747 8.2 5,554 32.98% €123,533 €15,759 0.83% 0.98%
16 Manufacture of wood and of products of wood and cork, except furniture; manufacture of articles of straw and plaiting materials 3,372 5.9 11,854 43.49% €151,838 €13,531 1.54% 0.51%
78 Employment activities 3,268 7.1 197,447 41.93% €97,376 €18,866 1.87% 0.59%
31 Manufacture of furniture 3,012 4.5 8,922 38.45% €127,589 €10,143 1.53% 0.67%
23 Manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products 2,985 8.4 25,375 46.44% €334,618 €25,144 1.44% 0.35%
02 Forestry and logging 2,410 4.6 1,147 44.36% €209,639 €8,572 0.87% 0.22%
13 Manufacture of textiles 2,390 8.2 15,154 45.82% €304,304 €16,415 1.05% 0.17%
72 Scientific research and development 2,330 7.4 25,323 55.16% €270,604 €23,227 1.20% 0.34%
28 Manufacture of machinery and equipment not elsewhere classified 2,317 3.5 38,045 45.05% €460,164 €35,793 2.07% 0.42%
84 Public administration and defence; compulsory social security 2,300 0.5 9,150 51.38% €934,655 €24,847 0.13% 0.01%
14 Manufacture of wearing apparel 2,053 8.4 3,120 36.08% €86,452 €4,658 0.58% 0.46%
61 Telecommunications 2,046 15.8 18,617 41.15% €73,811 €10,717 2.83% 1.59%
87 Residential care activities 2,044 1.3 115,389 45.97% €1.1m €47,096 0.59% 0.01%
35 Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply 1,791 10.1 19,311 34.01% €452,424 €16,266 1.06% 0.30%
38 Waste collection, recovery and disposal activities 1,648 7.6 18,799 39.97% €579,599 €45,187 2.61% 0.50%
60 Programming, broadcasting, news agency and other content distribution activities 1,431 16.6 4,660 46.92% €64,920 €4,765 0.70% 0.29%
11 Manufacture of beverages 1,397 5.9 10,898 23.51% €39,670 -€1,620 2.22% 0.63%
22 Manufacture of rubber and plastic products 1,320 11.6 22,296 47.14% €733,180 €40,789 2.35% 0.51%
20 Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products 1,277 5.3 47,050 45.88% €1.1m €52,215 2.11% 0.25%
50 Water transport 1,262 6.5 1,729 39.80% €339,994 €28,862 0.79% 0.28%
80 Investigation and security activities 1,150 7.5 15,399 42.78% €85,692 €14,532 2.78% 0.53%
27 Manufacture of electrical equipment 1,075 4.4 15,126 41.87% €225,694 €16,641 3.26% 0.89%
26 Manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products 1,010 4.9 16,334 47.75% €253,228 €20,840 1.49% 0.15%
91 Libraries, archives, museums and other cultural activities 967 3.7 4,764 51.95% €418,794 €10,358 0.52% 0.01%
29 Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers 745 5.2 27,381 40.98% €397,703 €35,081 2.01% 0.41%
24 Manufacture of basic metals 613 4.4 25,317 41.63% €470,259 €21,278 1.79% 0.50%
51 Air transport 527 7.0 5,011 38.49% €75,999 €10,905 1.14% 0.67%
92 Gambling and betting activities 505 4.8 2,545 58.69% €229,776 €19,927 3.37% 0.81%
65 Insurance, reinsurance and pension funding, except compulsory social security 450 1.8 880 42.02% €166,190 €43,685 0.22% -
17 Manufacture of paper and paper products 419 3.3 11,303 44.38% €1.0m €62,279 2.63% 0.46%
30 Manufacture of other transport equipment 380 7.9 6,227 33.89% €136,884 €9,278 2.89% 0.82%
21 Manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations 376 2.7 33,093 43.16% €424,203 €24,028 3.19% 0.55%
37 Sewerage 361 6.1 2,897 39.81% €297,383 €32,124 1.11% 0.34%
99 Activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies 354 0.3 24 - - - 0.00% -
15 Manufacture of leather and related products 337 14.8 1,057 42.60% €70,273 €1,843 1.19% 0.65%
39 Remediation activities and other waste management service activities 252 6.3 1,304 31.18% €152,250 €18,351 2.78% 1.02%
08 Other mining and quarrying 234 3.0 3,290 50.60% €902,335 €33,435 1.28% 0.34%
03 Fishing and aquaculture 223 4.0 489 42.67% €444,925 €13,530 4.04% 0.62%
36 Water collection, treatment and supply 134 3.7 4,281 44.90% €211,294 €13,035 0.75% 0.36%
09 Mining support service activities 55 3.6 102 44.30% €741,015 €36,132 0.00% 0.26%
19 Manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products 37 2.7 5,015 - - - 0.00% -
12 Manufacture of tobacco products 27 0.0 1,298 - - - 0.00% -
07 Mining of metal ores 5 0.0 11 - - - 0.00% -
06 Extraction of crude petroleum and natural gas 4 25.0 2 - - - 0.00% -
98 Undifferentiated goods- and services-producing activities of private households for own use 4 25.0 39 - - - 0.00% -
05 Mining of coal and lignite 2 0.0 7 - - - 0.00% -
How these figures are counted

Each division is counted in the NACE classification in which it exists. Bankruptcy probability is the median of the twelve-month bankruptcy probability Checked computes per company; the accounts medians come from annual accounts filed with the National Bank. A median is shown only from 30 companies.

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.

Each current enterprise registration is counted once nationally, including those without a main activity. The national row is therefore not the sum of the sectors.

Starters are the companies still registered today that started in the twelve complete months before the count, the same twelve months as on every market page (see How we count, below). Bankruptcies over twelve months are current registrations with a bankruptcy opening published in those months. Where a division has no figure, none is shown.

How we count

Every Checked market page counts the same twelve months, October 2025 to September 2026, from the same nightly count of 2 October 2026. The same question gets the same answer everywhere.

Incorporations in 12 months
152,426
Enterprises with a KBO start date in those twelve months, sole traders included, even if they have stopped since.
Bankruptcies in 12 months
12,264
Declared bankruptcies the Belgian Official Gazette published in those twelve months, including those of natural persons without an enterprise number.
Active companies
1,969,367
Enterprises active in the KBO on 2 October 2026, sole traders included.

On this page

A sector counts the companies still registered today, in the NACE classification in which the division exists; those that stopped since no longer count in the sector table.

Starters in the sector table
Incorporations152,426
stopped or struck off since-4,798
Still active147,628