Dutch Bankruptcies Drop 19% Year-on-Year in May 2026

Jun 12, 2026

Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reported that 287 businesses, including sole proprietorships, were declared bankrupt in May 2026, after adjusting for court session days. This figure represents a decrease of 66 bankruptcies compared to the same month in 2025, a year-on-year drop of 19 percent. On a month-over-month basis, bankruptcies fell by 1 percent in May relative to April.

The bankruptcy rate, defined as the number of bankruptcies per 100,000 businesses, stood at 7.7 in May 2026, down from 9.6 in May 2025. According to CBS, the bankruptcy rate has fluctuated since the start of the data series in 2015, peaking at 24.8 in March 2015. It then declined steadily to a record low of 3.4 in August 2021. After that low, the rate increased until it stabilized in the autumn of 2024, and since then the trend has been slightly downward. CBS noted that the bankruptcy rate provides a clearer picture of changes in bankruptcies over time than raw totals, and allows for better comparison between sectors, as the number of businesses can vary over time and across sectors.

Without adjusting for court session days, the transportation and storage sector recorded the highest number of bankruptcies in May. The bankruptcy rate in that sector was 22.6, down from 25.3 in May 2025.