The table: every country with companies in the Netherlands
Statistics Netherlands (CBS) counts a company as foreign-owned when the ultimate control is held from another country. The table shows the number of companies per country in 2023 and 2021, the growth between those years, the people they employ and their turnover. Click a column to sort. Countries with fewer than 15 companies are left out of the table; the totals include them.
| # | Country of ownership | Companies 2023 | Companies 2021 | Growth | People employed | Turnover (€ million) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 3,685 | 3,410 | +8.1% | 292,000 | 300,216 |
| 2 | Germany | 2,550 | 2,515 | +1.4% | 190,000 | 125,725 |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 2,220 | 1,920 | +15.6% | 128,000 | 184,193 |
| 4 | Belgium | 2,175 | 1,915 | +13.6% | 87,000 | 26,949 |
| 5 | France | 1,120 | 1,035 | +8.2% | 193,000 | 81,404 |
| 6 | Switzerland | 695 | 610 | +13.9% | 53,000 | 55,285 |
| 7 | Japan | 655 | 685 | -4.4% | 79,000 | 57,392 |
| 8 | Sweden | 615 | 530 | +16.0% | 57,000 | 35,852 |
| 9 | China | 535 | 470 | +13.8% | 13,000 | 12,249 |
| 10 | Luxembourg | 400 | 270 | +48.1% | 16,000 | 6,307 |
| 11 | Denmark | 355 | 355 | 0.0% | 23,000 | 13,059 |
| 12 | Italy | 350 | 340 | +2.9% | 14,000 | 8,555 |
| 13 | Ireland | 275 | 250 | +10.0% | 19,000 | 9,646 |
| 14 | Canada | 265 | 250 | +6.0% | 17,000 | – |
| 15 | Spain | 240 | 230 | +4.3% | 13,000 | 9,433 |
| 16 | Turkey | 240 | 175 | +37.1% | 6,000 | 2,376 |
| 17 | Norway | 235 | 200 | +17.5% | 10,000 | 4,839 |
| 18 | India | 230 | 205 | +12.2% | 21,000 | 9,844 |
| 19 | Austria | 180 | 170 | +5.9% | 13,000 | 7,603 |
| 20 | Singapore | 170 | 145 | +17.2% | – | 3,607 |
| 21 | Israel | 165 | 165 | 0.0% | 6,000 | 4,190 |
| 22 | Finland | 150 | 135 | +11.1% | 8,000 | 6,742 |
| 23 | Taiwan | 145 | 140 | +3.6% | 3,000 | 3,552 |
| 24 | Australia | 125 | 120 | +4.2% | – | – |
| 25 | Hong Kong | 110 | 120 | -8.3% | 23,000 | 6,903 |
| 26 | South Korea | 105 | 90 | +16.7% | 3,000 | 7,190 |
| 27 | South Africa | 90 | 80 | +12.5% | 4,000 | – |
| 28 | Cyprus | 75 | 50 | +50.0% | 2,000 | 448 |
| 29 | Poland | 70 | 55 | +27.3% | 1,000 | 329 |
| 30 | United Arab Emirates | 65 | 60 | +8.3% | 2,000 | 1,488 |
| 31 | Portugal | 50 | 45 | +11.1% | 1,000 | 252 |
| 32 | Czechia | 50 | 40 | +25.0% | 1,000 | – |
| 33 | Brazil | 45 | 40 | +12.5% | 1,000 | – |
| 34 | Russia | 45 | 60 | -25.0% | 1,000 | 995 |
| 35 | Malaysia | 40 | 45 | -11.1% | 1,000 | 920 |
| 36 | Hungary | 35 | 30 | +16.7% | 1,000 | 267 |
| 37 | Lithuania | 35 | 25 | +40.0% | 0 | – |
| 38 | Mexico | 35 | 30 | +16.7% | 1,000 | 838 |
| 39 | Iceland | 30 | 20 | +50.0% | 3,000 | 1,115 |
| 40 | Malta | 30 | 20 | +50.0% | 0 | 22 |
| 41 | New Zealand | 30 | 25 | +20.0% | – | – |
| 42 | Bulgaria | 25 | 15 | +66.7% | 0 | 12 |
| 43 | Romania | 25 | 10 | +150.0% | 0 | 37 |
| 44 | Estonia | 20 | 20 | 0.0% | 0 | 72 |
| 45 | Thailand | 20 | 20 | 0.0% | 1,000 | – |
| 46 | Saudi Arabia | 15 | 15 | 0.0% | 4,000 | 10,240 |
| 47 | Greece | 15 | 15 | 0.0% | 0 | 28 |
| 48 | Liechtenstein | 15 | 15 | 0.0% | – | – |
| 49 | Morocco | 15 | 10 | +50.0% | 0 | 31 |
| 50 | Jersey | 15 | 35 | -57.1% | – | – |
| 51 | Slovakia | 15 | 15 | 0.0% | – | – |
Totals: 19,115 foreign-owned companies in 2023 (17,510 in 2021), of which 8,880 from EU countries and 10,235 from outside the EU; 370 from offshore financial centres (405 in 2021). A dash means CBS withheld the figure because the group is too small. The data as a file: JSON · CSV.
What the table shows
The fastest growers (countries with at least 100 companies)
| Country | Companies 2021 | Companies 2023 | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luxembourg | 270 | 400 | +48.1% |
| Turkey | 175 | 240 | +37.1% |
| Norway | 200 | 235 | +17.5% |
| Singapore | 145 | 170 | +17.2% |
| South Korea | 90 | 105 | +16.7% |
| Sweden | 530 | 615 | +16.0% |
| United Kingdom | 1,920 | 2,220 | +15.6% |
| Switzerland | 610 | 695 | +13.9% |
Luxembourg grows fastest. A large part of Luxembourg ownership is holding activity: investment funds and family holdings that own Dutch operating companies. Turkey is the surprise in the list: Turkish-owned companies in the Netherlands went from 175 to 240 in two years. Sweden, Norway, Singapore and South Korea add companies at almost twice the average pace. India (+12.2%) and China (+13.8%) grow faster than the average too.
Two figures went the other way. Japanese ownership fell from 685 to 655 companies, while the people they employ stayed at 79,000: fewer entities, the same activity. Ownership from offshore financial centres fell from 405 to 370, in the same years in which the Netherlands tightened its substance rules for holding companies.
EU owners and owners from outside the EU
Of the 19,115 foreign-owned companies, 8,880 are owned from another EU country and 10,235 from outside the EU. Both groups grew at the same pace, 9.2% and 9.2%. The reasons differ. An owner from outside the EU needs a company inside the EU to sell, import and hire; the Netherlands wins that choice on language, logistics and the tax treaty network, explained on setting up a subsidiary in Europe and the best EU country for a founder from outside the EU. An owner from inside the EU can trade across the border already and chooses the Netherlands for the holding rules, the banks and the international workforce, explained on a company in the Netherlands for an EU founder.
New companies: what the Chamber of Commerce counts
The CBS table counts companies that exist. The Dutch Chamber of Commerce (KVK) counts companies that start. In the second quarter of 2026 the number of starters rose 4.8% compared with a year earlier, the number of companies that stopped fell 9.2% and bankruptcies fell 12.8% (813 against 932). On 30 June 2026 the trade register held 2.6 million establishments; 79% of them are self-employed people. Noord-Holland, the province of Amsterdam, Haarlem and Hoofddorp, has the highest density of starters (43 per 10,000 inhabitants) and 23% of all starters in the country; Zuid-Holland, with Rotterdam and The Hague, has 24%. Source: KVK Trendrapport Q2 2026, 23 July 2026.
What founders ask Holdwise
Holdwise sets up and manages Dutch companies for owners abroad. Between August and September 2026 the enquiries that reached us came from Latvia, Poland, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, the United Kingdom, the United States, Turkey, Czechia, India, Nigeria and Canada. Nine of fourteen came from inside the EU. Two found Holdwise through an AI assistant. Three reasons return in almost every message: an EU customer, marketplace or regulator requires a company established in the EU; the owner wants a base with a reliable reputation, a bank account and a European VAT number; or the owner holds companies in several countries and wants one holding above them. The route for each of these is on entering the European market, setting up a Dutch BV from abroad and the Dutch holding structure.
Source and version
Data: Statistics Netherlands (CBS), StatLine table 85821NED, final figures 2023; KVK Trendrapport Q2 2026. Compiled by Holdwise, Hoofddorp. The index keeps one address and follows the CBS and KVK publication dates: the 2024 figures follow in the autumn of 2026. The data file: JSON and CSV.
Method and sources
Company counts, people employed and turnover per country: Statistics Netherlands (CBS), StatLine table 85821NED, Buitenlandse zeggenschap bedrijven in Nederland; kerncijfers, bedrijfstak, industry B-S excluding O (public administration) and S94 (membership organisations), country of ultimate control, final figures for 2021 and 2023, last updated by CBS on 1 September 2026 and read through the CBS open data service on 16 September 2026. CBS rounds company counts to multiples of five and withholds figures for very small groups. The growth rate is Holdwise’s calculation from the two CBS years. Starters, stoppers and bankruptcies: KVK Trendrapport Q2 2026. Enquiry countries: Holdwise’s own intake, August to September 2026, anonymised. Companies owned in equal shares by a Dutch and a foreign party (10) are left out of the country table.