Record number of companies in the Netherlands

A record number of nearly 800 thousand companies were registered in the Netherlands on 1 January 2008. This is 40 thousand more than twelve months previously. Most of these companies are active in commercial and business services. Relatively most new companies in 2007 were established in the sectors construction and business services.

Number of companies by economic activity, 1 January 2008

Number of companies by economic activity, 1 January 2008

Many new companies in construction and business services

The total number of companies increased substantially in 2007, mainly as a result of the large number of new companies in the construction and business services sectors.  More than 10 thousand new construction companies, mainly one-man businesses, pushed up the total number of businesses in this sector to nearly 97 thousand. The number of companies in business services rose by 12.5 thousand. Nearly half of these newcomers were management consultancies. Another 2.5 thousand companies were active in computer and IT services, and 1,200 new mail order companies were established. The latter grew by relatively most in 2007: 40 percent.

Increase and decrease in number of companies, by sector, 1 January 2008

Increase and decrease in number of companies, by sector, 1 January 2008

Economic centres

Most companies are located in and around the large cities. On 1 January 2008 28.5 percent of all companies in the Netherlands were located in the agglomerations of Amsterdam, Utrecht, Rotterdam and the southeast of North Brabant. These areas account for 27.5 percent of Dutch inhabitants.

Geographical location of companies in the Netherlands, 1 January 2008

Geographical location of companies in the Netherlands, 1 January 2008

Strongest growth in Flevoland in 2007

The number of new companies grew by 4.4 percent on average in 2007. The increase was visible across the country. In the areas with the strongest growth, two-thirds of the increase was accounted for by predominantly small businesses in construction and business services. The number of new companies grew by most in Flevoland: 8 percent. This province attracted 1,500 new companies, of which half located in the municipality of Almere.

Growth in number of companies by geographical location, 2007–2008

Growth in number of companies by geographical location, 2007–2008

Rico Konen