In July 2025, 299 companies were declared bankrupt in the Netherlands. That’s 109 fewer than the same month in 2024, a 27% drop, and 4% fewer than in June. At first glance, this is the kind of number that makes headlines and gives the impression of recovery.
But the reality? Percentages without perspective are like weather reports without seasons. A sunny day in July tells you little about the winter to come.
When You Zoom Out, the Pattern Changes
From January to July 2025, 1,703 companies and institutions failed. The year before, it was 1,874. Better? Yes. Transformative? No.
Because bankruptcies are just the visible tip of the iceberg. Most businesses don’t go down through a formal insolvency process, they quietly close their books and disappear from the register.
In the second quarter of this year alone, 38,915 businesses ceased operations. Compare that with the 52,050 new registrations in the same quarter, and you might think: net positive, good news. But here’s the trap, what kind of businesses are we talking about?
The Nature of What’s Opening… and Closing
The vast majority of new registrations are sole proprietorships or one-person BVs. In Dutch terms: the world of ZZP-ers. These are often highly skilled, highly independent professionals. They bring value, but they do not necessarily bring employees.
On the other side, the closures are also mostly sole operators. Which means:
- The “net growth” in the number of businesses is real, but it’s not the same as job creation.
- Many of these new businesses are quick to open and quick to close, they’re agile, but also fragile.
And here’s a telling signal: in the first quarter of 2025, the number of active ZZP-ers actually declined by 28,000 compared to Q1 2024, the first drop in years. That’s a sign of people leaving self-employment for fixed contracts or other arrangements.
The Bankruptcy Rate: A Better Compass
The bankruptcy rate, the number of bankruptcies per 100,000 businesses, gives us a fairer measure than raw counts:
- July 2025: 8.1
- July 2024: 11.3
We’re down from last year and far below the peaks of 2015, but still far from the 3.4 record low of August 2021, when COVID support measures kept many afloat.
And not all sectors are sharing in the good news: hospitality still has the highest relative bankruptcies, 35.1 per 100,000 businesses, down from 58.1 last year, but still well above the national average.
Table: The Churn Behind the Headlines (Jan–Jun 2025)
| Metric | Number | What It Means |
|---|---|---|
| New businesses registered | 102,005 | Mostly solo operators—high agility, low job creation |
| Closures (Q2 only) | 38,915 | Primarily small-scale exits—less impact on jobs than on stats |
| Bankruptcies (Jan–Jul) | 1,703 | Visible failures, but just a fraction of total closures |
| Net population change | Positive | More starts than stops, but structural quality is uneven |
| ZZP year-on-year change (Q1) | –28,000 | First decline in years—signals market shifts |
Why This Matters for Decision-Makers
The Dutch entrepreneurial landscape is vibrant, yes, but vibrancy is not the same as stability. If most of the growth is in solo operations, we’re not necessarily building an economy that can absorb labour, scale innovation, or weather shocks.
For policymakers: don’t just count businesses, count businesses with capacity. For entrepreneurs: growth in the number of peers does not mean growth in opportunity; it means more competition for attention and clients.
And for everyone: remember that headlines are for the moment, but strategy is for the cycle. Numbers must be read not just for what they are, but for what they mean when the seasons change.
Co-Creator of Xtroverso | Head of Global GRC @ ZENTRIQ™
Paolo Maria Pavan builds systems that balance rules with freedom, clarity with transformation. In his third life, he writes and speaks openly about markets, governance, and risk, not as a trader chasing price, but as a reader of patterns, behaviors, and distortions. A serial entrepreneur shaped by failure and reinvention, he sees governance as a living force for trust and progress, and refuses to avoid the hard conversations that make it real.
