Many new businesses in the four major cities
The four major Dutch cities, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht and The Hague are all in the starters top 10. These municipalities have the highest starter to total company ratio.
Starters and total companies per municipality, 2011
Many starters, many quitters
Besides Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht and The Hague, there are also small municipalities in the top 10 such as Beesel and Westervoort. These municipalities not only have many new establishments but also many terminations. Due to the turbulence in the number of starting and terminated companies in other municipalities, Rotterdam and The Hague were not in the top 10 of companies with the highest net growth in establishments in 2011.
Municipal top 10 with the highest starter ratio, 2011
Most starters in densely populated areas
Densely populated areas often get most starters. Amsterdam heads the list of the most starters per 10 thousand inhabitants. The region Parkstad Limburg, one of the most densely populated areas in the Netherlands, has very few starters per 10 thousand inhabitants though. This is due to the greying and de-greening of the region.
Starters per 10 thousand inhabitants per municipality, 2011
Many starters in business services
Most new establishments are in business services, construction and trade. There is no clear regional concentration of these branches.
Presence of technology universities good for high-tech
The three universities of technology at Delft, Eindhoven and Enschede draw many high-tech companies. The share of starters in de high-tech sector is 9 percent in these municipalities whereas the national average is just 5 percent.
Heart of the cultural sector in Utrecht and Amsterdam
There is a strong concentration of the cultural sector in Amsterdam and Utrecht. This makes that the number of starters in the cultural sector in these municipalities is twice the national average. Almost a quarter of the starters in the sector are located in Amsterdam and Utrecht.
Ralph Wijnen and Noortje Pouwels-Urlings