Brussels-Capital Region in figures
262.751 active enterprises in Brussels-Capital Region: 209,2 per 1,000 inhabitants, 19.643 starts and 1.336 closures in 12 months.
Active enterprises
262.751
182.163 legal persons · 80.588 sole traders
Starts in 30 days
1.501
19.643 in 12 months
Closures in 30 days
1.309
On Peppol
50%
127.533 of 254.849 checked
Starts and closures per month
So far 1 month(s) measured: Nov 2026 (running): 441 starts, 1.309 closures. The chart appears from three months.
Firmatlas has tracked closures since 2 October 2026. We count starts only from then too, because the KBO open data holds no companies that closed before.
VAT-registered starts and stops per year
- Starts14.6592025
- Closures11.3642025
As a table
| Year | Starts | Closures |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 12.241 | 8.825 |
| 2020 | 11.186 | 7.889 |
| 2021 | 11.471 | 8.086 |
| 2022 | 12.445 | 8.746 |
| 2023 | 11.454 | 9.645 |
| 2024 | 14.410 | 10.244 |
| 2025 | 14.659 | 11.364 |
Statbel counts VAT-registered businesses on 31 December, sole traders included, so they differ from the KBO count on this page.
Municipalities
| Municipality | Active | Per 1,000 inh. | Starts per 1,000 inh. | On Peppol |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brussel | 37.161 | 187,0 | 8,4 | 50,3% |
| Elsene | 23.335 | 261,7 | 13,5 | 53,6% |
| Ukkel | 16.173 | 184,7 | 8,9 | 56,9% |
| Schaarbeek | 13.520 | 104,6 | 5,0 | 45,9% |
| Anderlecht | 12.628 | 97,4 | 5,3 | 52,0% |
| Etterbeek | 9.718 | 195,8 | 9,5 | 50,1% |
| Sint-Jans-Molenbeek | 9.092 | 92,4 | 4,7 | 49,4% |
| Sint-Gillis | 8.403 | 172,3 | 9,7 | 44,5% |
| Vorst | 7.690 | 130,6 | 7,7 | 48,5% |
| Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe | 6.816 | 111,8 | 5,6 | 53,8% |
| Sint-Pieters-Woluwe | 6.124 | 143,9 | 6,6 | 58,0% |
| Jette | 4.655 | 85,7 | 3,8 | 49,5% |
| Oudergem | 4.506 | 126,4 | 6,1 | 58,7% |
| Watermaal-Bosvoorde | 4.460 | 176,5 | 11,1 | 61,8% |
| Sint-Joost-ten-Node | 4.017 | 148,8 | 7,9 | 44,8% |
| Evere | 3.724 | 81,0 | 4,6 | 57,3% |
| Sint-Agatha-Berchem | 2.792 | 108,4 | 6,7 | 57,3% |
| Koekelberg | 2.294 | 101,6 | 5,4 | 51,0% |
| Ganshoren | 2.141 | 83,2 | 4,0 | 50,8% |
By sector
| Sector | Active | Starts per 100 |
|---|---|---|
| NProfessional, scientific and technical activities | 33.789 | 10,2 |
| GWholesale and retail trade | 16.864 | 8,2 |
| FConstruction | 15.704 | 12,8 |
| OAdministrative and support services | 8.497 | 12,1 |
| KTelecommunications, computing and information services | 8.264 | 11,8 |
| TOther services | 8.107 | 8,3 |
| IAccommodation and food services | 7.366 | 8,3 |
| MReal estate | 6.816 | 3,8 |
| RHuman health and social work | 6.072 | 7,0 |
| HTransport and storage | 5.752 | 15,9 |
| SArts, sports and recreation | 5.619 | 9,4 |
| QEducation | 4.120 | 11,9 |
| CManufacturing | 3.670 | 7,9 |
| JPublishing, broadcasting and content | 2.979 | 9,1 |
| LFinancial and insurance activities | 2.502 | 4,0 |
| PPublic administration and defence | 412 | 0,5 |
| VExtraterritorial organisations | 299 | 0,0 |
| AAgriculture, forestry and fishing | 289 | 7,6 |
| DEnergy supply | 241 | 4,6 |
| EWater, waste and remediation | 128 | 7,0 |
| UHouseholds as employers | 28 | 0,0 |
| BMining and quarrying | 16 | 6,3 |
Sources: KBO open data of the FPS Economy, as of 9 November 2026 · Peppol directory · Statbel (CC BY 4.0), processed by Firmatlas · How we count