The month of December confirms this upward trend: with 1,108 bankruptcies, the number was 10.6% higher than in December 2024. However, behind these national figures lie significant regional differences.
Year to year
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Flanders breaks records, Wallonia goes against the trend
In the Flemish Region, a total of 6,741 bankruptcies were declared in 2025. This is the highest number in the 2012–2025 period and an increase of 6.6% compared to the previous record year 2024 (6,323).
In the Walloon Region, on the other hand, the number of bankruptcies decreased by 2.9% compared to 2024. With 2,740 bankruptcies, Wallonia records only the sixth-highest result of the past fourteen years.
The Brussels-Capital Region recorded 2,184 bankruptcies, an increase of 13.6% compared to 2024. Although this is the highest number in the past six years, it ranks only as the seventh-highest level in the 2012–2025 period.
Sectors: increases almost everywhere, several historic records
With the exception of agriculture and fisheries, the number of bankruptcies increased across all sectors compared to 2024. In three sectors, new Belgian records were even set:
In the Flemish Region, no fewer than five sectors recorded the highest bankruptcy figures of the 2012–2025 period, including construction, other services, transport and storage, liberal professions, and the information and communication sector.
Sectoral records were also observed in Wallonia and Brussels. In Wallonia, the number of bankruptcies in liberal professions and scientific and technical activities reached a historic high of 236 cases. In Brussels, a record was recorded in transport and storage, with 228 bankruptcies, surpassing the previous record from 2018.
Legal structure: increase mainly among private limited companies (BV)
In terms of legal forms, the number of bankruptcies among self-employed individuals remains high, with 2,281 cases — the second-highest number since 2013. However, a new record was set among private limited companies (BV), with 7,754 bankruptcies, surpassing the previous record from 2013 (7,525).
New regional records were also recorded, including among self-employed individuals in Brussels and Flanders and among private limited companies in both Brussels and Flanders.
Job losses rise again
Total job losses resulting from bankruptcies amounted to 29,842 in 2025, an increase of 2.0% compared to 2024. This is the highest number in the past eleven years, although still lower than pre-2015 levels.
Brussels recorded 5,993 job losses, the highest level in fourteen years, exceeded only in 2014. In Flanders, job losses decreased by 10.1% compared to 2024, but with 15,762 jobs lost, it still ranks as the third-highest result of the past fourteen years. In Wallonia, the highest level of job losses in the past ten years was recorded, although still lower than pre-2016 levels.
In five sectors, job losses increased, with new Belgian records recorded in three sectors, including hospitality, transport and storage, and liberal professions and scientific and technical activities
Source: allianz-trade.com
Photo: Shutterstock
