Belgium has a record 1.3 million self-employed workers « Euro Weekly News

Nearly 1.3 million people in Belgium worked as self-employed individuals in 2024, according to an annual report by the National Institute for the Social Security of the Self-Employed (NISSE) on Wednesday.

Over the past decade, the number of people choosing self-employment, primarily as a side hustle, has increased gradually, according to a Brussels Times report.

The latest statistics show that by the end of last year, the number of self-employed individuals was a record 1,299,825. That was a 1.61 per cent increase from 2023, the report added.

Of the total number of self-employed individuals, 801,544 were freelancers, who reported this as their primary source of income. This is a modest increase of 0.35 per cent in 2024 compared with the previous year.

In contrast, the number of those self-employed on a complementary basis rose by 2.7 per cent to 341,591.

The most notable growth was seen among retirees who continued to work. By the end of 2024, there was a 6 per cent increase in self-employed pensioners, totalling nearly 157,000, up from just under 148,000 in 2023, according to The Brussels Times.

Financial support for Belgian startups

Federal Minister for the Middle Classes, Éléonore Simonet, praised the work of her predecessors and the shift in attitudes toward self-employment and non-linear careers.

Simonet announced a new ‘SME Plan.’ She said details were still being finalised before sending the proposal for cabinet approval.

The proposal includes financial support for start-ups, to encourage Belgian talent to remain in the country rather than seeking opportunities abroad.

As for self-employed individuals currently working in Belgium, over 25 per cent of newly-starting freelancers are of foreign nationality.

Of the 33,528 foreign freelancers in the country, 33 per cent are from Romania. The number of self-employed individuals from the Netherlands and France continues to exceed 2,300 in the country.

“Only 36 per cent of the self-employed in 2024 will be women,” Simonet said. “That figure is still far too low in these times. I think Belgium can and should become a model for equal opportunities in entrepreneurship.”

Over 70 per cent of freelancers do not want to ever be employees again, according to the report.