2018 sets a new milestone for new businesses in Belgium; 1 in 10 are foreigners

Last year, just over 100,000 new businesses were set up across the country, new figures published in the so-called "Starters' Atlas" show. It's the first time the magic threshold of 100,000 is broken. At the same, we see that about 1 in 10 self-employed in Belgium are foreigners (figures from 2017). Their share climbed by 18 percent in five years' time. 

The figure is 5.29 percent up on the year. Taking into account the last three years, the rise is a staggering 20 percent, organisers told a press conference in Brussels. 

About 6 in 10 of the new self-employed were men, mostly in the services sector and the free professions. But, maybe more importantly, we see that 2 in 3 new self-employed manage to survive the first five years. "The starters have become (financially) healthier", says Eric Van den Broele of Graydon, the office that compiled the report together with the organisations for the self-employed Unizo and UMC. 

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