2025 was a difficult year for businesses in Belgium with bankruptcies reaching their highest level since 2013. A total of 11,697 insolvency rulings were recorded last year, an increase of 5.9% compared with 2024. The figures come from the financial services company Graydon.
The rise in the number of bankruptcies in Belgium was driven entirely by sharp increases in the number of companies filing for insolvency in Flanders and Brussels. In Wallonia there were slightly fewer bankruptcies in 2025 than there were in 2024.
Several sectors of the economy experienced record levels of bankruptcies. These include construction, real estate, transport and services. In construction and real estate, it was mainly small firms that went bankrupt, while in transport and logistics a new of large companies also went under. In 2025 job losses totaled 26,778. This is slightly down on the number of job losses in 2024 but still the second-highest figure of the past decade.
The number of new businesses starting up fell by 2% last year compared with 2024. Meanwhile, the number of businesses shutting up shop for good rose by 3.25%. In 2025 there was a net increase of 18,631 companies in Belgium. This is the lowest net increase in ten years.
Graydon warns that the gap between new businesses starting up and existing businesses ceasing trading has never been narrower. Net business growth is down by a quarter compared with 2024 and by more than half compared with 2021. A growing share of new businesses are one-person businesses. Graydon describes this as a clear break from previous trends.
Overall, Graydon characterises 2025 as a year in which Belgian entrepreneurship proved resilient but increasingly focused on caution and survival rather than expansion. Looking ahead to 2026, pressure on companies is expected to remain high, particularly during the first half of the year, when bankruptcies could rise further. At the same time, Graydon notes a broader European shift towards greater economic resilience and strategic autonomy.