Almost a third of employees work for a family business
Family businesses are businesses in which one family holds, directly or indirectly, a majority of the voting power (or 25 percent in the case of listed companies). The family must be formally involved in the Board of Directors and the ownership of the business must also be legally transferable. Businesses that are part of a business group with just one employee are counted as a separate group. These are mainly self-employed persons.
Family businesses prevalent in retail and agriculture, forestry and fishing
Most family businesses are found in the retail sector (over 36 thousand) and in agriculture, forestry and fishing (around 36 thousand). The share of family businesses in agriculture, forestry and fishing is also the highest of any economic sector, at nearly 45 percent.
Three-quarters of employee jobs in this sector are in family businesses. Family businesses in the car trade and repair, accommodation and food services and construction sectors also provide a relatively large share of employee jobs. Just over half of all employee jobs in the retail sector are in family businesses. In other sectors, the share of employee jobs in family businesses is smaller.
| Bedrijfstak | Family business (%) | Non-family business (%) | Businesses that are part of a group with less than one employee (%) | Non-businesses (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All economic activity | 31.0 | 50.2 | 2.0 | 16.8 |
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 73.3 | 23.6 | 2.9 | 0.2 |
| Car trade and repairs | 68.6 | 29.3 | 1.9 | 0.2 |
| Accommodation and food services | 63.1 | 35.8 | 0.6 | 0.5 |
| Construction | 57.8 | 39.2 | 2.9 | 0.0 |
| Retail trade (excl. cars) | 50.9 | 48.3 | 0.7 | 0.0 |
| Wholesale trade | 42.6 | 55.5 | 1.9 | 0.0 |
| Business services | 37.8 | 55.0 | 5.0 | 2.2 |
| Transportation and storage | 35.1 | 61.3 | 0.7 | 3.0 |
| Manufacturing | 34.7 | 56.8 | 0.7 | 7.9 |
| Real estate activities | 31.2 | 45.4 | 9.0 | 14.6 |
| Culture, sport and other services | 28.9 | 27.4 | 1.5 | 42.3 |
| Mining and quarrying | 25.6 | 69.5 | 0.0 | 2.4 |
| Information and communication | 24.3 | 69.4 | 4.1 | 2.3 |
| Financial services | 14.3 | 76.3 | 7.4 | 2.0 |
| Energy, water and waste management | 14.1 | 73.4 | 1.1 | 11.3 |
| Government and health care | 8.2 | 46.8 | 0.5 | 44.6 |
More young employees
Those employed in family businesses are relatively young: 31 percent of employees are aged under 25. In non-family businesses, 22 percent of employees are in this age group. This difference is partly explained by the higher prevalence of retail trade and hospitality activities (which employ more young people, in relative terms) among family businesses.Most family businesses are micro-enterprises
85 percent of all family businesses in 2024 were micro-enterprises (between 2 and 10 employees), a total of over 252 thousand. Among non-family businesses, the share was 52 percent.
Around 17 percent of the businesses and organisations in the large-enterprise sector (i.e. 250 employees or more) were family-owned. The majority of people working in non-profit organisations in 2024 were self-employed (1 person employed). In addition, nearly 1.8 million businesses were part of business groups that employed one person (self-employed workers without staff).
| Type | 1 worker1) (%) | 2-9 workers (%) | 10-49 workers (%) | 50-249 workers (%) | 250 or more workers (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Businesses that are part of a group with less than one employee | 100.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Family businesses | 1.6 | 85.3 | 11.3 | 1.5 | 0.2 |
| Non-family businesses | 32.2 | 52.4 | 11.0 | 3.4 | 1.1 |
| Non-businesses | 78.1 | 11.2 | 5.5 | 3.2 | 2.1 |
| 1)De ondernemingengroep is het identificatieniveau. Onderliggende bedrijven kunnen kleiner zijn. Zodoende zijn er familiebedrijven, niet-familiebedrijven en geen bedrijven met 1 werkzaam persoon. | |||||
Family businesses often exist for longer
Compared with non-family businesses, family businesses tend to have been in existence for longer. Nearly 19 percent of family businesses in 2024 had been trading for thirty years or longer, compared to under 9 percent of non-family businesses. The majority of family businesses (46 percent) had been operating for ten to thirty years, compared to just over 29 percent of non-family businesses.
| Type | Active for less than 3 years (%) | 3-4 years (%) | 5-9 years (%) | 10-29 years (%) | Active for 30 years or more (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Businesses that are part of a group with less than one employee | 32.8 | 14.8 | 22.2 | 27.6 | 2.7 |
| Family businesses | 11.0 | 7.4 | 16.6 | 46.2 | 18.9 |
| Non-family businesses | 27.9 | 12.7 | 21.4 | 29.3 | 8.7 |
| Non-businesses | 24.1 | 9.2 | 20.8 | 31.7 | 14.2 |