Dutch business bankruptcies drop 15% in February, industry hit hardest

The number of companies declared bankrupt in the Netherlands fell in February compared with a year ago, though it rose slightly from January, CBS reports.

311 businesses went bankrupt in February, a decline of 53 cases, or 15 percent, compared with February 2025. The figure represents an 11 percent increase from January 2026.

The bankruptcy rate, which measures the number of bankruptcies per 100,000 companies, also declined compared with a year earlier. In February, the rate was 8.3, down from 9.9 in February 2025. Since the series began in 2015, the rate peaked at 24.8 in March 2015, dropped to a record low of 3.4 in August 2021, and has fluctuated since, with a slight downward trend since late 2024.

The industrial sector experienced the highest bankruptcy rate in February. Among all companies in the sector, 25 per 100,000 went bankrupt, down from 31.3 a year earlier.

Data for February show 35 sole proprietorships and 276 other companies and institutions went bankrupt. For comparison, February 2025 saw 26 sole proprietorships and 338 other companies fail.