The number of small and medium-sized enterprises has grown by 70% in ten years

The number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Netherlands grew to more than 1.5 million at the start of this year, according to Statistics Netherlands (CBS). This is an increase of almost 70 percent compared to ten years ago.

The CBS stated that the increase is mainly due to the rise in freelancers this century. There will be around 1.3 million freelancers in 2024, almost double the number in 2014.

The number of independent taxi drivers, truck drivers, and delivery people has risen sharply, tripling since 2014. The number of freelancers has also doubled in construction.

The sector with the highest relative increase in new SMEs was software publishers. In 2024, this sector had over 300 companies, six times as many as ten years ago.

The statistics show that some branches have fewer SMEs. For example, 28 percent fewer SMEs with a gas station now exist than in 2014. The amount of small and medium-sized enterprises with a printing house or a cafe has declined by a fifth.

Companies that hire freelancers are regularly criticized. Trade Union FNV took Uber and Deliveroo to court because the companies were hiring self-employed people without employees.

FNV argued that these employees should fall under the collective bargaining agreements. The Supreme Court decided in November last year that Deliveroo employees should fall under the collective bargaining agreement. Deliveroo is now no longer working in the Netherlands.