17 January 2022
A total of 1,536 companies were declared bankrupt in 2021, according to provisional figures from the Central Bureau of Statistics. 25 of these involve cleaning companies.
In 2021, 1,536 companies and institutions, excluding sole proprietorships, were declared bankrupt. That is 43 per cent less than in 2020. CBS therefore speaks of a “historically low” number. Many companies struggled in 2021 due to the corona crisis, but the number of bankruptcies was almost at the lowest level since statistics began in 1981. Only in 1990 was the number of bankruptcies at 1,527 just slightly lower than in 2021.
Emergency support from the government
The number of bankruptcies peaked at 8,376 in 2013. After that, the number of bankruptcies declined for five consecutive years. In 2019, although the number of bankruptcies increased slightly again, the level remained low. After that, however, the number of bankruptcies decreased again.
The number of bankruptcies in 2021 was the lowest in 31 years. That fewer companies were declared bankrupt in corona times cannot be separated from the government's emergency support.
Cleaning industry
Bankruptcies are also very low in the cleaning industry: 25 cleaning companies, including nine sole proprietorships, went bust last year.
By comparison, there were 48 and 49 in 2020 and 2019, respectively. In 2018, 54 cleaning companies went bankrupt, 66 in 2017 and 76 in 2016.
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