Self-employed persons; income, wealth, characteristics; 2007-2016

Self-employed persons; income, wealth, characteristics; 2007-2016

Type of self-employed Sex Characteristics of persons Sector/Branches (SIC 2008) Periods Self-employed, main income Self-employed persons (x 1 000) Self-employed, main income Self-employed income Median personal income (1 000 euro) Self-employed, main income Self-employed wealth Median wealth (1 000 euro) Self-employed, all incomes Self-employed persons (x 1 000) Self-employed, all incomes Self-employed income Median personal income (1 000 euro) Self-employed, all incomes Self-employed wealth Median wealth (1 000 euro)
Self-employed Total male and female Total persons A-U All economic activities 2016* 1,205.9 30.9 125.2 1,788.2 31.8 111.3
Self-employed Total male and female Total persons B-E Industry (no construction), energy 2016* 48.1 37.9 169.1 58.7 37.1 162.6
Self-employed Total male and female Total persons B-F Manufacturing and energy 2016* 190.7 35.9 90.9 219.2 35.5 93.9
Self-employed Total male and female Total persons G-I Trade, transport, hotels, catering 2016* 261.4 29.3 127.6 329.3 29.6 116.0
Self-employed Total male and female Total persons G-N Commercial services 2016* 601.9 36.7 139.9 812.2 37.1 127.4
Self-employed Total male and female Total persons M-N Business services 2016* 229.8 39.6 127.1 331.3 40.1 116.0
Self-employed Total male and female Total persons O-Q Government and care 2016* 152.4 27.2 96.4 278.6 28.9 78.1
Self-employed Total male and female Total persons O-U Noncommercial services 2016* 266.2 20.6 78.7 439.4 24.8 68.5
Self-employed Total male and female Total persons R-U Culture, recreation, other services 2016* 113.8 15.9 58.4 160.8 19.5 54.1
Self-employed Total male and female Total persons A Agriculture, forestry and fishing 2016* 85.3 29.6 677.9 109.5 30.0 653.0
Self-employed Total male and female Total persons B Mining and quarrying 2016* 0.2 60.4 225.3 0.2 64.1 252.7
Self-employed Total male and female Total persons C Manufacturing 2016* 46.4 37.6 167.1 56.3 36.7 159.2
Self-employed Total male and female Total persons D Energy supply 2016* 0.7 46.0 404.1 1.2 47.0 380.6
Self-employed Total male and female Total persons E Water supply and waste management 2016* 0.9 44.0 117.3 1.1 44.0 120.5
Self-employed Total male and female Total persons F Construction 2016* 142.6 35.5 70.8 160.4 35.1 73.9
Self-employed Total male and female Total persons G Wholesale and retail trade 2016* 169.2 28.9 162.4 216.5 29.6 141.5
Self-employed Total male and female Total persons H Transportation and storage 2016* 36.0 33.1 63.7 46.1 31.9 62.8
Self-employed Total male and female Total persons I Accommodation and food serving 2016* 56.1 27.5 79.6 66.7 28.2 80.2
Self-employed Total male and female Total persons J Information and communication 2016* 43.1 41.4 86.7 66.2 41.2 71.8
Self-employed Total male and female Total persons K Financial institutions 2016* 55.6 60.8 366.6 69.1 60.0 381.7
Self-employed Total male and female Total persons L Renting, buying, selling real estate 2016* 12.1 47.0 321.1 16.4 45.1 330.4
Self-employed Total male and female Total persons M Other specialised business services 2016* 183.4 42.5 142.4 264.0 43.2 129.7
Self-employed Total male and female Total persons N Renting and other business support 2016* 46.3 30.8 74.0 67.2 31.1 68.2
Self-employed Total male and female Total persons O Public administration and services 2016* 0.5 0.7 164.9 8.2 37.4 144.1
Self-employed Total male and female Total persons P Education 2016* 37.8 20.7 70.6 76.6 28.6 62.2
Self-employed Total male and female Total persons Q Health and social work activities 2016* 114.2 30.9 105.6 193.8 28.6 81.9
Self-employed Total male and female Total persons R Culture, sports and recreation 2016* 48.9 18.7 56.4 76.3 23.4 47.7
Self-employed Total male and female Total persons S Other service activities 2016* 64.9 14.1 59.9 84.4 16.9 60.2
Self-employed Total male and female Total persons T Activities of households 2016* 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Self-employed Total male and female Total persons U Extraterritorial organisations 2016* 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Self-employed Total male and female Total persons Unknown 2016* 61.7 9.6 49.3 207.9 24.2 66.9
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 0 to 14 years A-U All economic activities 2016* 0.0 . . 0.2 1.4 115.3
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 0 to 14 years B-E Industry (no construction), energy 2016* 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 0 to 14 years B-F Manufacturing and energy 2016* 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 0 to 14 years G-I Trade, transport, hotels, catering 2016* 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 0 to 14 years G-N Commercial services 2016* 0.0 . . 0.1 1.5 117.2
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 0 to 14 years M-N Business services 2016* 0.0 . . 0.1 . .
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 0 to 14 years O-Q Government and care 2016* 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 0 to 14 years O-U Noncommercial services 2016* 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 0 to 14 years R-U Culture, recreation, other services 2016* 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 0 to 14 years A Agriculture, forestry and fishing 2016* 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 0 to 14 years B Mining and quarrying 2016* 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 0 to 14 years C Manufacturing 2016* 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 0 to 14 years D Energy supply 2016* 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 0 to 14 years E Water supply and waste management 2016* 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 0 to 14 years F Construction 2016* 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 0 to 14 years G Wholesale and retail trade 2016* 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 0 to 14 years H Transportation and storage 2016* 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 0 to 14 years I Accommodation and food serving 2016* 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 0 to 14 years J Information and communication 2016* 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 0 to 14 years K Financial institutions 2016* 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 0 to 14 years L Renting, buying, selling real estate 2016* 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 0 to 14 years M Other specialised business services 2016* 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 0 to 14 years N Renting and other business support 2016* 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 0 to 14 years O Public administration and services 2016* 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 0 to 14 years P Education 2016* 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 0 to 14 years Q Health and social work activities 2016* 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 0 to 14 years R Culture, sports and recreation 2016* 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 0 to 14 years S Other service activities 2016* 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 0 to 14 years T Activities of households 2016* 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 0 to 14 years U Extraterritorial organisations 2016* 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 0 to 14 years Unknown 2016* 0.0 . . 0.1 . .
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 15 to 24 years A-U All economic activities 2016* 33.8 19.2 32.3 79.3 13.4 21.1
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 15 to 24 years B-E Industry (no construction), energy 2016* 1.0 28.5 99.2 1.5 23.1 97.7
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 15 to 24 years B-F Manufacturing and energy 2016* 6.2 30.1 48.5 7.5 28.2 48.7
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 15 to 24 years G-I Trade, transport, hotels, catering 2016* 6.9 21.5 21.7 11.2 16.9 20.2
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 15 to 24 years G-N Commercial services 2016* 13.3 19.5 24.4 26.9 14.3 20.7
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 15 to 24 years M-N Business services 2016* 4.6 17.9 26.3 10.7 13.2 18.9
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 15 to 24 years O-Q Government and care 2016* 3.9 15.3 17.9 16.7 11.3 13.7
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 15 to 24 years O-U Noncommercial services 2016* 9.1 13.7 18.9 26.6 11.3 14.4
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 15 to 24 years R-U Culture, recreation, other services 2016* 5.3 12.4 19.5 9.9 11.4 15.7
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 15 to 24 years A Agriculture, forestry and fishing 2016* 2.7 33.4 607.3 3.4 30.6 576.2
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 15 to 24 years B Mining and quarrying 2016* 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 15 to 24 years C Manufacturing 2016* 0.9 28.3 100.6 1.4 23.1 99.2
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 15 to 24 years D Energy supply 2016* 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 15 to 24 years E Water supply and waste management 2016* 0.0 . . 0.1 . .
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 15 to 24 years F Construction 2016* 5.2 30.3 42.7 6.0 29.2 41.8
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 15 to 24 years G Wholesale and retail trade 2016* 3.8 18.1 40.6 6.9 15.0 31.6
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 15 to 24 years H Transportation and storage 2016* 1.7 24.9 8.4 2.6 20.0 9.6
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 15 to 24 years I Accommodation and food serving 2016* 1.3 27.5 18.1 1.7 21.4 13.2
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 15 to 24 years J Information and communication 2016* 1.6 16.6 27.5 4.5 11.7 22.8
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 15 to 24 years K Financial institutions 2016* 0.2 36.1 136.5 0.4 25.6 145.1
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 15 to 24 years L Renting, buying, selling real estate 2016* 0.1 . . 0.1 20.9 18.1
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 15 to 24 years M Other specialised business services 2016* 2.8 15.9 21.4 7.2 12.5 14.6
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 15 to 24 years N Renting and other business support 2016* 1.7 22.5 35.7 3.5 15.1 33.1
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 15 to 24 years O Public administration and services 2016* 0.0 . . 0.4 11.0 27.8
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 15 to 24 years P Education 2016* 1.2 14.4 19.5 5.8 8.2 12.6
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 15 to 24 years Q Health and social work activities 2016* 2.7 15.7 16.4 10.5 13.1 14.2
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 15 to 24 years R Culture, sports and recreation 2016* 2.4 14.8 17.1 5.6 11.4 10.6
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 15 to 24 years S Other service activities 2016* 2.8 10.5 23.3 4.3 11.5 24.8
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 15 to 24 years T Activities of households 2016* 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 15 to 24 years U Extraterritorial organisations 2016* 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 15 to 24 years Unknown 2016* 2.5 12.6 10.2 15.0 9.6 12.1
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 25 to 44 years A-U All economic activities 2016* 473.4 30.6 42.3 660.7 31.7 30.3
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 25 to 44 years B-E Industry (no construction), energy 2016* 16.6 38.2 65.2 19.8 37.5 54.8
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 25 to 44 years B-F Manufacturing and energy 2016* 83.7 36.3 33.0 93.0 36.1 31.6
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 25 to 44 years G-I Trade, transport, hotels, catering 2016* 95.1 28.8 45.8 118.1 29.9 36.7
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 25 to 44 years G-N Commercial services 2016* 231.0 36.0 54.1 299.8 36.4 40.6
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 25 to 44 years M-N Business services 2016* 91.5 36.8 49.3 124.8 37.4 35.9
Self-employed Total male and female Age: 25 to 44 years O-Q Government and care 2016* 57.9 26.6 27.6 96.8 29.1 16.5
Source: CBS.
Explanation of symbols

Dataset is not available.


This table contains statistics regarding income and capital of self-employed persons in the Netherlands. A distinction is made between, on the one hand, persons for whom self-employment provides for the main source of income, and on the other hand all persons with income from self-employed work. The number of sources of self-employed income is reported as well. The figures in this table are broken down by type of self-employed person, sector, gender, age, migration background, position in the household, and by income and wealth decile groups.

All statistics in this table are at the individual level, this includes capital; (corporate) assets are summed per household and then assigned to all household members, thus serving as a measure of personal prosperity. The sample date for both population and capital is the first of January of the reporting year. For the older years 2007 up to and including 2010, capital is sampled on the first of January of the year following the reporting year.

The General Business Register (ABR) is used to determine the sector (SBI) of self-employed persons. The ABR has been subject to various trend breaks in the period 2007-2011. This leads to a sharp decrease in the number of self-employed persons in the financial services (sector K) in 2010. Therefore caution is advised when consulting sector trends or comparing numbers across sectors.

Data available for 2007-2016.

Status of the figures:
All figures are provisional. Since this table has been discontinued, the status will remain fixed.

Changes as of 2019 March 1:
None, the table has been discontinued

When will new figures be published?
Not applicable. This table has been replaced, see paragraph 3 for a link to the new table.

Description topics

Self-employed, main income
Persons for whom self-employment provides for the main source of income.
Self-employed persons
Persons for whom self-employment provides for the main source of income.
Self-employed income
The income as a self-employed person comprises income from a self-owned company or practice, directorial wage, and other self-employed income (e.g. as a freelancer).

Median personal income
The gross income of an individual is made up of; income from work, income from enterprise, benefits from income insurance and social benefits (except child allowances).
Self-employed wealth
The capital of the household to which the self-employed person belongs, assigned to all household members as a measure of wealth.
Median wealth
Balance of assets and liabilities of a household, allocated to the people in that household as an indicator of personal wealth.
Self-employed, all incomes
All persons with income from self-employed labour.
Self-employed persons
Persons for whom self-employment provides for the main source of income.
Self-employed income
The income as a self-employed person comprises income from a self-owned company or practice, directorial wage, and other self-employed income (e.g. as a freelancer).
Median personal income
The gross income of an individual is made up of; income from work, income from enterprise, benefits from income insurance and social benefits (except child allowances).
Self-employed wealth
The capital of the household to which the self-employed person belongs, assigned to all household members as a measure of wealth.
Median wealth
Balance of assets and liabilities of a household, allocated to the people in that household as an indicator of personal wealth.