Bankruptcies up by 12 percent in March, year on year

Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports that, adjusted for court session days, 301 businesses (including sole proprietorships) were declared bankrupt in March 2026. That was 32 more than in the same month in 2025, an increase of 12 percent. The number of bankruptcies fell by 3 percent in March, relative to February.

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 up

The bankruptcy rate, the number of bankruptcies per 100 thousand businesses, was 8.1 in March 2026. A year earlier, the rate was 7.4.

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 stabilised until the autumn of 2024. Since then, the trend has been slightly downward.

Most bankruptcies recorded in the accommodation and food services sector

If the number of court session days is not taken into account, most bankruptcies in March were declared in the accommodation and food services sector. The bankruptcy rate in this sector was 30.6, down from 38.5 in March 2025.