Einar H. Dyvik
Research expert covering Nordics and global data for society, economy, and politics
SMEs in the Benelux - statistics & facts
Small and medium enterprises are an important part of the Belgian, Dutch, and Luxembourgish economies. When looking at the number of SMEs compared to other business types in the Netherlands, the mkb (the Dutch abbreviation for SMEs) equaled around 450,000 companies, compared to more than one million self-employed people in 2023. In Belgium, kmo (the Belgian Dutch abbreviation) and PME (the French abbreviation) were responsible for almost two-thirds of all employment in 2022. In 2021, the contribution of Belgian SMEs to the country’s employment was higher than in some European countries, such as France and the Netherlands, but notably below Luxembourg.
