Over 113,000 new companies established in Belgium last year

According to figures published on Thursday by the national statistics office Statbel, Belgium had exactly 1,187,819 VAT-liable companies at the end of last year. This represents an annual increase of 1.6 per cent, which is slower than the 2.2 per cent growth recorded in 2023.

A total of 113,289 new businesses were established in 2024, marking a 0.8 per cent decline compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, 94,532 companies ceased their activities, marking a 6.8 per cent year-on-year increase.

As of 31 December 2024, almost nine in ten (89.3 per cent) of the businesses that had become VAT-liable in 2023 remained active - 90,416 out of 101,267. The lowest one-year survival rate was in Flanders (88.8 per cent), compared with 90.3 per cent in Wallonia and 89.6 per cent in Brussels.

Belgians reluctant to start their own business due to geopolitical uncertainty

Although a record number of new sole proprietorships and companies were established in Belgium in 2024, the first quarter of this year saw a 12.75...

belganewsagency.eu

Over the longer term, 63.5 per cent of companies founded in 2019 were still operating by the end of 2024. Once again, Flemish businesses recorded the lowest survival rate of the three regions.

Notably, there was significant interregional movement of companies: in 2024, 1,855 Flemish businesses relocated to Brussels, representing the largest flow of VAT-registered firms. The reverse flow was almost identical, with 1,849 Brussels-based companies moving to Flanders. The smallest migration occurred between Flanders and Wallonia, with 732 firms moving south and 601 moving north.

^{© BELGA PHOTO ERIC LALMAND}