Bankruptcies down by 26 percent in September compared to a year ago

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© Nikki van Toorn
Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports that, adjusted for court days, 276 businesses (including sole proprietorships) were declared bankrupt in September. That was 97 fewer than in the same month in 2024, a decrease of 26 percent. The number of bankruptcies fell by 1 percent in September, relative to August.

This news release on bankruptcies focuses on the change compared to the previous year and on the bankruptcy rate. This is the number of declared bankruptcies per 100 thousand businesses. The bankruptcy rate provides a clearer picture of the change in the number of bankruptcies in the Netherlands. It also allows for better comparison between sectors. This is because the number of businesses can fluctuate over time and differ greatly between sectors.

Bankruptcy rate down

The bankruptcy rate, the number of bankruptcies per 100 thousand businesses, was 7.5 in September 2025. In September 2024, 10.3 per 100 thousand businesses were declared bankrupt. In August 2025, the bankruptcy rate was 7.6.

Since the start of the series in 2015, the bankruptcy rate peaked at 24.8 in March 2015. After that, a decline started and a record low of 3.4 was reached in August 2021. The number of bankruptcies per 100 thousand businesses increased again until 2024. The bankruptcy rate then stabilized until the autumn of 2024. Since then, the trend has been slightly downward.

Most bankruptcies recorded in the accommodation and food services sector

In relative terms, the most bankruptcies in September were declared in the accommodation and food services sector, without any adjustment for court days. For every 100 thousand businesses in this sector, around 46.7 went bankrupt. In September 2024 the number was 28.8.

Sources

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