Self-employed persons; income, wealth, characteristics

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Type of self-employment Branches (SIC2008) Sex Self-employed, main income Self-employed persons (x 1 000) Self-employed, main income Self-employed income Median self-employed income (1 000 euro) Self-employed, main income Self-employed wealth Median company capital (1 000 euro) Self-employed, all incomes Self-employed persons (x 1 000) Self-employed, all incomes Self-employed income Median self-employed income (1 000 euro) Self-employed, all incomes Self-employed wealth Median company capital (1 000 euro)
Self-employed A-U All economic activities Total male and female 66.2 25.6 16.9 195.8 2.9 19.3
Male 48.7 28.7 18.8 115.4 5.6 19.7
Female 17.5 18.4 12.2 80.3 1.2 18.8
B-E Industry (no construction), energy Total male and female 2.0 34.8 37.6 3.6 12.9 33.7
Male 1.8 37.4 41.7 2.9 18.7 35.9
Female 0.2 . 16.6 0.6 . 24.8
B-F Manufacturing and energy Total male and female 16.5 34.5 16.0 25.8 17.6 17.2
Male 15.8 35.1 16.2 22.3 23.0 17.0
Female 0.7 . 12.1 3.4 1.4 21.8
G-I Trade, transport, hotels, catering Total male and female 13.1 21.5 21.9 34.5 4.0 20.6
Male 10.8 22.8 21.3 25.5 5.3 19.7
Female 2.3 16.5 23.8 9.0 2.2 24.7
G-N Commercial services Total male and female 29.5 22.2 17.1 80.0 4.3 17.5
Male 23.0 23.8 17.7 55.7 5.6 17.0
Female 6.6 17.1 15.3 24.3 2.4 19.1
M-N Business services Total male and female 13.3 22.8 13.5 36.3 4.6 15.1
Male 9.6 25.4 14.4 22.9 6.5 15.1
Female 3.7 17.1 11.3 13.4 2.7 15.2
O-Q Government and care Total male and female 8.6 27.7 10.7 41.3 1.0 16.1
Male 3.5 28.1 11.4 14.5 1.4 16.4
Female 5.1 27.5 10.1 26.7 0.9 16.1
O-U Noncommercial services Total male and female 15.6 21.5 10.1 58.3 1.8 13.4
Male 6.3 23.8 11.4 22.0 2.3 13.5
Female 9.3 19.9 9.6 36.3 1.5 13.4
R-U Culture, recreation, other services Total male and female 7.0 16.1 9.4 17.0 4.4 9.8
Male 2.8 19.3 11.4 7.4 4.4 10.2
Female 4.2 14.1 8.6 9.6 4.3 9.5
A Agriculture, forestry and fishing Total male and female 3.7 41.3 654.9 5.3 28.8 684.3
Male 3.0 44.5 746.0 4.2 34.6 720.6
Female 0.7 . 217.2 1.2 15.0 440.1
B Mining and quarrying Total male and female 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Male 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Female 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
C Manufacturing Total male and female 2.0 34.8 39.8 3.4 12.7 34.4
Male 1.8 37.5 42.7 2.8 18.5 36.9
Female 0.2 . 17.8 0.6 . 24.1
D Energy supply Total male and female 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Male 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Female 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
E Water supply and waste management Total male and female 0.1 . . 0.1 . .
Male 0.0 . . 0.1 . .
Female 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
F Construction Total male and female 14.5 34.4 13.9 22.2 18.4 15.3
Male 14.0 35.0 14.1 19.4 23.7 15.0
Female 0.5 . 9.9 2.8 1.3 20.5
G Wholesale and retail trade Total male and female 6.8 21.3 30.4 17.7 2.7 23.0
Male 5.6 22.8 31.3 13.8 3.4 23.5
Female 1.2 14.3 24.8 3.9 1.8 22.1
H Transportation and storage Total male and female 3.5 23.5 11.9 6.6 10.7 12.6
Male 3.3 23.5 11.6 6.0 10.9 12.3
Female 0.2 . 21.3 0.6 . 22.4
I Accommodation and food serving Total male and female 2.7 20.0 19.5 10.2 3.4 24.5
Male 1.8 21.4 17.5 5.7 4.7 21.6
Female 0.9 . 24.1 4.5 2.4 29.5
J Information and communication Total male and female 2.9 21.5 17.2 8.6 4.0 14.9
Male 2.4 22.0 17.3 6.8 4.5 13.7
Female 0.4 . 16.8 1.7 2.6 21.2
K Financial institutions Total male and female 0.1 . . 0.3 . 156.5
Male 0.1 . . 0.2 . 141.2
Female 0.0 . . 0.1 . .
L Renting, buying, selling real estate Total male and female 0.2 . 108.9 0.3 . 77.3
Male 0.1 . . 0.2 . 68.4
Female 0.0 . . 0.1 . .
M Other specialised business services Total male and female 6.2 20.8 16.4 17.9 4.5 16.1
Male 3.7 24.3 18.1 9.7 5.8 16.0
Female 2.5 17.2 13.9 8.2 3.4 16.1
N Renting and other business support Total male and female 7.1 24.5 11.4 18.4 4.7 14.3
Male 5.9 26.2 12.3 13.2 7.2 14.3
Female 1.2 17.0 7.8 5.2 1.7 14.1
O Public administration and services Total male and female 0.0 . . 0.3 . .
Male 0.0 . . 0.2 . .
Female 0.0 . . 0.2 . .
P Education Total male and female 2.2 17.1 10.4 26.6 0.4 26.5
Male 1.3 18.2 10.4 10.3 0.5 22.8
Female 0.9 . 10.3 16.4 0.3 30.2
Q Health and social work activities Total male and female 6.4 32.7 10.7 14.3 9.9 11.4
Male 2.2 36.5 11.8 4.1 14.8 11.9
Female 4.2 30.7 10.1 10.2 8.1 11.2
R Culture, sports and recreation Total male and female 3.0 17.5 11.6 10.0 3.4 10.6
Male 1.8 19.2 13.3 5.8 3.6 11.3
Female 1.2 15.4 9.0 4.1 3.2 10.0
S Other service activities Total male and female 4.0 14.9 8.2 7.1 6.3 9.0
Male 1.0 20.0 7.7 1.6 9.5 8.4
Female 3.0 13.5 8.4 5.5 5.7 9.2
T Activities of households Total male and female 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Male 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Female 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
U Extraterritorial organisations Total male and female 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Male 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Female 0.0 . . 0.0 . .
Unknown Total male and female 0.9 . 44.0 26.4 0.3 58.3
Male 0.5 . 75.7 11.3 0.4 63.7
Female 0.3 . 38.4 15.1 0.2 53.8
Solo self-employed A-U All economic activities Total male and female 60.8 24.6 15.0 189.2 2.6 18.0
Male 44.6 27.5 16.6 110.7 5.0 18.0
Female 16.2 18.0 10.9 78.5 1.1 17.8
B-E Industry (no construction), energy Total male and female 1.8 33.6 35.6 3.3 12.1 31.7
Male 1.7 35.9 39.8 2.7 17.4 34.5
Female 0.2 . 13.5 0.6 . 20.1
B-F Manufacturing and energy Total male and female 15.7 34.1 15.0 24.8 17.2 16.5
Source: CBS.
Explanation of symbols

Table explanation


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 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 from: 2007.

Status of the figures:
The figures for 2007 to 2023 are final. The figures for 2024 are preliminary.

Changes as of November 19, 2025:
The figures for 2023 have been finalized. The figures for 2024 have been added.

When will new figures be published?
New figures for 2025 will be published in the second half of 2026.

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 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).

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 company capital
Substantial interest of owner-managers, and business assets of self-employed entrepreneurs.
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 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).

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 company capital
Substantial interest of owner-managers, and business assets of self-employed entrepreneurs.