Funeral business continues to grow

There were more than 700 funeral companies in the Netherlands at the beginning of 2006, one and a half times the number in 1996. The number of jobs in this sector doubled in the same period.

Small companies in particular are active in the funeral business. In 2006 more than 85 percent of the businesses had 5 employees or fewer. The funeral companies have a total of nearly one thousand establishments. Most of these establishments are in the provinces South Holland and Gelderland.

Interestingly, the increase in the number of companies and in employment in this sector does not correspond with a higher mortality. On the contrary, since 2002 the number of deaths has decreased by nearly 5 percent.

Funeral companies, 1 January