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KBO · Belgian Official Gazette · since 2019

How many companies start, fail, seek a reorganisation or are dissolved, month by month? Compare sectors and regions and take the figures with you as CSV, PNG or a quotable sentence.

Incorporations September 2026 10,200-1.2% on a year earlier 152,518 over twelve monthsBankruptcies September 2026 1,058+2.9% on a year earlier 12,264 over twelve monthsJudicial reorganisations September 2026 42+20% on a year earlier 664 over twelve monthsJudicial dissolutions September 2026 251+39% on a year earlier 4,844 over twelve months
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Incorporations · Belgium

Per month · start date in the KBO

Incorporations · Belgium
05,00010,00015,00020,00020222023202420252026

The last month (October 2026) is still running and counts up to today.

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To quote

Sentences taken straight from the figures above. Credit Checked.be as the source.

  • In September 2026, 10,200 companies were incorporated, 1.2% fewer than in September 2025.
  • Over the twelve months from October 2025 to September 2026 there were 152,518, 17% more than the twelve months before.

Source: Checked.be, based on the KBO and the Belgian Official Gazette, counted on 3 October 2026.

The last 24 months in Belgium

MonthIncorporationsBankruptciesJudicial reorganisationsJudicial dissolutions
October 2026 (running)5,93890159
September 202610,2001,05842251
August 20269,2755392719
July 202614,97491376394
June 20269,3721,09757588
May 20269,46295957430
April 202617,4271,14769309
March 202610,1111,09069721
February 202611,5901,06259312
January 202618,87488150469
December 202511,1861,27068397
November 202510,18498237491
October 202519,8631,26653463
September 202510,3281,02835181
August 20258,1985593587
July 202513,42994565308
June 20257,8761,15139405
May 20258,52690346560
April 202514,4361,10369457
March 20258,2731,07248496
February 20259,84095425472
January 202516,41790850596
December 20249,2001,11746633
November 20248,33995052476
How these figures are counted
  • Incorporations: companies per month of their start date in the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises, sole traders included. Companies the KBO had already struck off before April 2026 are missing, so older months count somewhat lower than the incorporations of the time.
  • Bankruptcies, judicial reorganisations (opening) and judicial dissolutions: by month of publication in the Belgian Official Gazette, since January 2019.
  • Areas: judgments are published per court and the Brussels courts also serve Halle-Vilvoorde, so that arrondissement counts with Brussels for every series, not with Flanders.
  • Sectors: the main activity (NACE 2025) the KBO gave the company. For older bankruptcies the sector is often no longer known, because the company had already left the KBO; a sector line counts only the known ones and says so.
  • Marked months: at least 35% above (or below) the same month a year earlier and clearly above (or below) the average of the twelve months before.

Bankruptcies since 1998

Belgian Official Gazette

September 2026: 1,058 bankruptcies, the most in any September since the comparable series began in 2019.

Over twelve months (October 2025 to September 2026): 12,264 bankruptcies, the highest since the comparable series began in 2019.

1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026
  • Legal entities
  • Natural persons and not stated
  • 2026: up to September 2026
Figures per year
Year Total Legal entities Natural persons Not stated With enterprise number
2026 (running) 8,746 6,558 2,188 0 93%
2025 12,141 9,083 3,058 0 92%
2024 11,401 7,997 3,404 0 91%
2023 10,649 7,435 3,214 0 93%
2022 9,731 6,909 2,822 0 93%
2021 6,906 4,852 2,054 0 92%
2020 7,945 5,554 2,391 0 92%
2019 11,504 8,263 3,241 0 92%
2018 9,942 7,449 2,492 1 95%
2017 10,137 7,487 2,644 6 95%
2016 9,653 7,384 2,268 1 94%
2015 10,310 7,487 2,821 2 95%
2014 10,928 8,404 2,481 43 96%
2013 11,748 9,295 2,352 101 97%
2012 10,218 8,095 2,014 109 97%
2011 9,801 7,822 1,940 39 98%
2010 9,688 7,664 2,001 23 98%
2009 9,274 7,387 1,871 16 98%
2008 8,207 6,491 1,701 15 99%
2007 7,606 6,032 1,550 24 98%
2006 7,540 6,004 1,520 16 99%
2005 7,831 6,165 1,648 18 99%
2004 7,947 6,254 1,631 62 97%
2003 7,569 5,996 1,533 40 38%
2002 6,899 5,606 1,293 0 0%
2001 6,710 5,344 1,366 0 0%
2000 6,320 5,018 1,302 0 0%
1999 6,615 5,217 1,398 0 0%
1998 6,521 5,113 1,408 0 0%

Bankruptcy openings per month of publication, the same count as the monthly figures above. From June 1997 to April 2018 read from the gazette's texts before RegSol; in a sample of 66 editions the reading found 99% of the openings. The gazette has printed an enterprise number only since July 2003; before that, whether it is a legal entity or a natural person follows from the name. The old texts count fewer bankruptcies than the official statistics (2013: 11,748 here, 11,740 at Statbel; 2024: 11,401 against 11,067): read the years before 2018 as a lower bound. That is why the sentences above compare only with the years since 2019, read the same way.

How bankruptcies end

Of 107,673 bankruptcies of legal entities across Belgium, 49% were closed within five years for insufficient assets and 28% after liquidation, 3% were withdrawn; 20% were still open after five years. Half had ended after 26 months (a quarter after 15, three quarters after 51 months).

By court and division, and for reorganisations

Bankruptcy radar

Companies per stage of the ladder: the last 90 days (6 Jul 2026 to 3 Oct 2026) against the 90 days before. Early signals and reorganisations often come months before a bankruptcy.

T-90 Early signals 1,819 against 2,126 -14% Strike-off by the FPS Economy (no accounts, address or UBO register), unless later withdrawn, or a provisional administrator. Comes earliest on average.
T-60 Reorganisations 134 against 184 -27% Opening of a judicial reorganisation: the company asks the court for protection from its creditors.
T-0 Bankruptcies 2,266 against 2,961 -23% Bankruptcy declared and published in the Belgian Official Gazette.

Where the bankruptcies are

Per province, office or establishment, last 90 days

fewer moremax 402

Without a province: 55; the register links neither their office nor an establishment to a Belgian municipality.

Per sector

Sector (NACE division) Early signals T-90 Reorganisations T-60 Bankruptcies T-0
Architecture and engineering NACE 71 rising 8 2 35+94%
Postal and courier NACE 53 rising 19-5% 0 26+37%
Financial services NACE 64 rising 130% 1 24+26%
Civil engineering NACE 42 rising 100% 1 20+25%
Education NACE 85 rising 4 0 12+20%
Crop and animal production NACE 01 rising 3 3 13+18%
Food and beverage service NACE 56 147+2.8% 26-33% 316-21%
Specialised construction NACE 43 162-23% 25+25% 284-23%
Retail trade NACE 47 128-26% 140% 224-15%
Wholesale trade NACE 46 89+22% 4 109-2.7%
Construction of buildings NACE 41 119+3.5% 5 106-32%
Land transport NACE 49 67-20% 4 97-23%
Building services and landscaping NACE 81 44-10% 5 68-4.2%
Head offices and management consultancy NACE 70 46-2.1% 6 61-20%
Personal services NACE 96 26-43% 3 58-38%
Show the other 59 sectors
Real estate NACE 68 34-32% 5 51-1.9%
Office administrative support NACE 82 21-4.5% 3 38-27%
Computer programming and consultancy NACE 62 44+16% 4 37-27%
Repair of computers and personal goods NACE 95 28+12% 2 28-36%
Food products NACE 10 8 2 22-15%
Advertising and market research NACE 73 24+41% 1 200%
Warehousing and transport support NACE 52 17 0 15-12%
Accommodation NACE 55 5 0 15
Other professional activities NACE 74 8 1 14-46%
Sports and recreation NACE 93 7 2 12-54%
Human health NACE 86 7 3 11-27%
Repair and installation of machinery NACE 33 2 0 10-38%
Employment activities NACE 78 3 0 100%
Computing infrastructure and information services NACE 63 4 0 8
Rental and leasing NACE 77 16 1 8
Security and investigation NACE 80 4 2 8
Creative and performing arts NACE 90 9 0 8
Other manufacturing NACE 32 0 1 7
Telecommunications NACE 61 4 0 7
Machinery and equipment NACE 28 2 0 6
Social work without accommodation NACE 88 1 0 6
Fabricated metal products NACE 25 6 0 5
Electrical equipment NACE 27 1 0 5
Publishing NACE 58 5 1 5
Auxiliary financial services NACE 66 6 0 5
Legal and accounting NACE 69 14 1 5
Travel agencies NACE 79 2 0 5
Printing NACE 18 5 0 4
Forestry NACE 02 0 0 3
Rubber and plastics NACE 22 2 0 3
Non-metallic mineral products NACE 23 0 0 3
Furniture NACE 31 1 0 3
Wood and cork NACE 16 2 1 2
Waste collection and treatment NACE 38 0 0 2
Remediation NACE 39 1 0 2
Water transport NACE 50 1 0 2
Programming and broadcasting NACE 60 1 0 2
Membership organisations NACE 94 5 1 2
Beverages NACE 11 0 0 1
Textiles NACE 13 2 0 1
Chemicals NACE 20 1 0 1
Basic metals NACE 24 2 0 1
Computer and electronic products NACE 26 1 1 1
Motor vehicles NACE 29 0 0 1
Electricity, gas and steam NACE 35 0 0 1
Insurance and pension funding NACE 65 0 0 1
Research and development NACE 72 0 0 1
Veterinary activities NACE 75 0 0 1
Fishing and aquaculture NACE 03 1 0 0
Clothing NACE 14 0 0 0
Leather and related products NACE 15 0 0 0
Paper NACE 17 2 0 0
Pharmaceuticals NACE 21 0 0 0
Film, video and music NACE 59 5 0 0
Public administration and defence NACE 84 0 0 0
Residential care NACE 87 0 0 0
Libraries, archives and museums NACE 91 0 0 0
Gambling and betting NACE 92 2 0 0
Households as employers NACE 97 0 0 0

Without a known sector: 404; these bankruptcies count above, not in the table.

CSV View the publications

A rise or fall is only shown from ten companies in both periods; a sector is rising when its bankruptcies rise. A strike-off the FPS Economy later withdrew does not count.

How we count

Every Checked market page counts the same twelve months, October 2025 to September 2026, from the same nightly count of 3 October 2026. The same question gets the same answer everywhere.

Incorporations in 12 months
152,518
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
1,969,969
Enterprises active in the KBO on 3 October 2026, sole traders included.

On this page

The cards, the chart, the quotable sentences and the table follow exactly these definitions; the running month counts up to the day of the count.

The radar counts companies with an enterprise number over two periods of 90 days, per stage of the ladder; a company counts once per stage and period.

Bankruptcies of companies with a number
Published bankruptcies12,264
natural persons without an enterprise number-859
second publication for the same company-59
Companies11,346

Checked Barometer: every month a fixed edition of these figures, by region and sector, to cite

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