First fall in number of breweries since 2010
The majority of these breweries were one-person businesses. The decrease in the number of breweries between 2024 and 2025 was most noticeable at the beginning of 2025, when the number of one-person businesses fell by 25 and there were 15 fewer businesses with two employees than at the beginning of 2024.
| Jaar | 1 employee ((rounded to the nearest five)) | 2 employees ((rounded to the nearest five)) | 3-5 employees ((rounded to the nearest five)) | 5 or more employees ((rounded to the nearest five)) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 40 | 10 | 10 | 15 |
| 2011 | 45 | 15 | 10 | 15 |
| 2012 | 60 | 15 | 10 | 15 |
| 2013 | 65 | 20 | 10 | 15 |
| 2014 | 85 | 25 | 10 | 15 |
| 2015 | 105 | 50 | 15 | 15 |
| 2016 | 140 | 65 | 30 | 15 |
| 2017 | 185 | 75 | 35 | 25 |
| 2018 | 250 | 95 | 45 | 25 |
| 2019 | 285 | 125 | 70 | 35 |
| 2020 | 325 | 130 | 80 | 40 |
| 2021 | 350 | 145 | 75 | 60 |
| 2022 | 390 | 170 | 90 | 65 |
| 2023 | 400 | 170 | 85 | 65 |
| 2024 | 445 | 185 | 80 | 70 |
| 2025 | 420 | 170 | 85 | 60 |
| 1)A small deviation from the total may occur due to rounding of the categories. 2)Status as at 1 January of each year. | ||||
Majority of brewers and largest increase seen in Noord-Brabant
On 1 January 2024, the province of Noord-Brabant had the largest number of breweries of any province at 160, followed by Noord-Holland (145), Zuid-Holland (110) and Gelderland (95). These four provinces combined accounted for 64 percent of the total number of breweries in the Netherlands.Noord-Brabant also ranked first in terms of the rise in the number of breweries. On 1 January 2024, there were 135 more breweries than in early 2010. The rest of the top four provinces also remain top of the list regarding the number of breweries: Noord-Holland (up by 130), Zuid-Holland (up by 100) and Gelderland (up by 85). In 2024, the number of breweries had increased in all provinces compared with 2010.
| Provincie | 2024 ((rounded to the nearest five)) | 2010 ((rounded to the nearest five)) |
|---|---|---|
| Noord-Brabant | 160 | 25 |
| Noord-Holland | 145 | 15 |
| Zuid-Holland | 110 | 10 |
| Gelderland | 95 | 10 |
| Overijssel | 70 | 5 |
| Utrecht | 60 | 5 |
| Limburg | 50 | 15 |
| Friesland | 30 | 0 |
| Drenthe | 25 | 0 |
| Zeeland | 20 | 5 |
| Groningen | 20 | 0 |
| Flevoland | 10 | 0 |
| 1)Status as at 1 January of each year. | ||
Number of breweries nearly tripled, number of employees up by half
Between 2016 and 2022, the number of breweries in the Netherlands grew by 179 percent. The number of workers in the sector grew less rapidly: in 2016, 4.7 thousand people worked at a brewery; six years later, the number had risen to 6.6 thousand. That was an increase of 40 percent, reflecting the growth in the number of breweries employing one person.
During the same period, the sector's operating income increased by only 8 percent, despite the large increase in the number of breweries. This was also offset by a 26 percent increase in operating costs. As a result, the aggregated operating results of breweries in 2022 were down by 64 percent from six years earlier.
| Jaar | Number of breweries (2016=100) | Labour volume (2016=100) | Operating income (2016=100) | Operating costs (2016=100) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| 2017 | 128.3 | 108.5 | 103.6 | 108.2 |
| 2018 | 166.0 | 123.4 | 104.1 | 117.5 |
| 2019 | 203.8 | 129.8 | 104.1 | 120.3 |
| 2020 | 226.4 | 129.8 | 89.5 | 109.4 |
| 2021 | 249.1 | 131.9 | 92.8 | 107.7 |
| 2022 | 279.3 | 140.4 | 108.1 | 125.9 |