Statbel, the Belgian statistical office, publishes the results of the structural business survey for the year 2022. These results provide a detailed overview of the non-financial business economy in Belgium, covering industry, construction, trade and various services.
In 2022, the non-financial business economy in Belgium registered 750,852 enterprises, representing a large proportion of the economy outside the agricultural, financial and non-market sectors, and 3,059,668 people employed in these enterprises.
The data show a significant breakdown between sectors
- 58% of enterprises are active in the service sector, employing 50% of employed people.
- The construction sector accounts for 19% of enterprises and employs 11% of the labour force.
- Trade accounts for 20% of jobs, while industry, which represents 6% of enterprises, employs an average of 12.8 people per enterprise, the highest ratio among the sectors.
Economic performance by sector
Financial indicators of enterprises for 2022 reveal significant differences between sectors in terms of turnover, value added and gross operating surplus:
- Trade has the highest figures for turnover and purchases, with €610 billion in terms of turnover and €555 billion in purchases respectively.
- The service sector leads the way in terms of value added (€115 billion) and personnel costs (€58 billion).
- The gross operating surplus is also the highest in services, with €57 billion.
Breakdown by enterprise size
Micro enterprises (less than 10 employed people) account for the large majority of enterprises:
- 95.9% of Belgian enterprises are micro enterprises, but they employ 34.2% of employed people.
- On the other hand, large enterprises (250 or more employees), although representing only 0.1% of enterprises, account for 34.9% of total employment.
Productivity indicators
The analysis of productivity indicators shows that:
- Turnover per person employed is the highest in trade (€995,000) and industry (€778,000).
- Value added per person employed is the highest in industry (€153,000), followed by trade (€99,000) and services (€75,000 euros).
These detailed statistics provide a clear overview of the structure and economic performance of Belgian enterprises in 2022. The full data and dynamic tables are available on the Statbel website.
Structural business statistics in 2022: An overview of the Belgian economy
The annual statistics on the structure of enterprises for the year 2022 provide a detailed overview of the non-financial business economy in Belgium. Covering industry, construction, trade and various services, these data are essential to define Belgian and European economic policies, as well as to support research and enterprises in their market analysis.
Here are some of the possibilities offered by these statistics:
- Consultation of financial information such as turnover, purchases and investments.
- Analysis of business performance, productivity and profitability.
- Study of transfers between economic sectors and national specialisations.
The data, collected from a sample of enterprises, are extrapolated to the entire population of Belgian enterprises. They are available approximately 21 months after the end of the reference year and can be explored in greater detail on our website via dynamic tables.
For more information and to consult the full statistics for 2022, see the Structural Business Statistics 2022.analysis.
This publication marks the fifth year of the structural survey based on the new definition of enterprise, providing accurate and up-to-date data for a better understanding of the Belgian economy.