Belgium had nearly 1.31 million active small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) at the end of 2022, which points to a 26.6% surge over a decade, according to the 2023 SME report.
The annual report is published by UCM and UNIZO, which represent self-employed entrepreneurs in Brussels/Wallonia and Flanders respectively, and the Graydon market and data analysis firm.
It showed that Flanders recorded the highest ten-year growth rate, 21.6%, followed by Brussels (+15.1%) and Wallonia (+12.9%).
Last year, Flanders also led with 710,831 registered SMEs, accounting for 54.4% of Belgium’s total. This region registered 17,952 new SMEs compared to 2021, a 2.6% increase.
Wallonia had 322,844 SMEs, 24.7% of the country’s total. The number went up by 5,722 (1.8%) last year.
Brussels has 135,827 SMEs, 10.4% of the total. The number grew by 839 (0.6%) last year, making it the only region to register an annual increase that was lower than the average annual growth rate (1.5%) for the 2013-2022 period.
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Additionally, 10.6% of SMEs registered in Belgium (1 in 10) have unknown locations. “This poses a real problem for the implementation of entrepreneurial policies at national, regional and/or targeted territory level,” according to the report, which noted that the percentage has been increasing steadily each year, surpassing the number of SMEs registered in Brussels in 2022.
Of the 1,307,788 active Belgian SMEs, 53.3% were company-based. Over 610,000 Belgian SME owners opted to run their operations as sole proprietors, representing 46.7% of the total.
The report also noted that SMEs in all three regions operate mainly within the services sector.
“Business services and real estate account for one in two SMEs in the Belgian services sector, followed by personal services and information and communication technologies (ICT)”, the report pointed out.
Construction was identified as the second-largest sector.
