Innovation in Creative sme’s in Flanders: a case Study Based Analysis ∗

Table 2 Number of Enterprises Broken Down by Size Classes, Belgium, 1999 - 2005
(absolute figures and percentages) (1) 
SMEs
Large 
enterprises 
Total 
Micro Small
Medium
Subtotal
1999 341,963 
25,047
3,644
370,654
748 
371,402
92.07% 6.74%
0.98%
99.80%
0.20% 100%
2000 (2) 
210,957 
17,618
3,136
231,711
656 
232,367
90.79% 7.58%
1.35%
99.72%
0.28% 100%
2001 348,639 
26,188
3,935
378,762
797 
379,559
91.85% 6.90%
1.04%
99.79%
0.21% 100%
1
Less than 10 employees: micro enterprises; 11 to 49 employees: small enterprises; 50 to 249 employees: medium 
enterprises; more than 250 employees: large enterprises. This definition differs from the OECD definition of SMEs 
(which was used for the purpose of this research project) in that the OECD definition specifies, in addition to the 
employment cut-off, an additional criterion based on annual turnover of the enterprise. Specifically for our sample 
however, both definitions are equivalent, all firms taking part in the survey are part of the SME sector, irrespective 
of the definition used.
2
Belgian data are compared to either the euro zone average or to the EU-15 (EU-27) average, since these countries 
include Belgium’s neighbors and main trading partners. Moreover, these are the countries that are most comparable 
to Belgium in economic terms. 

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246 
2002 
n.a. n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
n.a. n.a.
n.a. 
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
n.a. 
n.a.
2003 353,134 
25,813
3,766
382,713
781 
383,493
92.08% 6.73%
0.98%
99.80%
0.20% 100%
2004 364,712 
25,559
3,717
393,988
784 
394,771
92.39% 6.47%
0.94%
99.80%
0.20% 100%
2005 365,613 
25,622
3,804
395,039
796 
395,960
92.34% 6.47%
0.96%
99.77%
0.20% 100%
EU-15 13,029,160 
1,108,193
160,859
14,298,212
31,376 14,329,588
2004 (3) 
90.93% 7.73%
1.12%
99.78%
0.22% 100%
EU-27 17,460,421 
1,319,465
208,846
18,988,732
40,787 19,012,297
2004 (4) 
91.84% 6.94%
1.10%
99.88%
0.21% 100%
Source: based on Eurostat data (2008) 
(1) Nace D, E, F, G, H, I, K; (2) Nace D, E, F, H, I, K; (3) excl. Greece and Luxemburg, (4) expected. 
In 2005, total employment in Belgium amounted to about 2.4 million (full-time equivalent) 
individuals of which 67.22 percent was employed within an SME. Table 3 shows that in recent years the 
share of micro enterprises increases while the overall amount of SME enterprises stabilizes; even 
decreases slightly in 2005. 
Between 1999 and 2005 overall employment in Belgium grew with about 4.4 percent. Most of this 
increase was realized by SMEs, which documented a growth rate of 5.86 percent, compared to 0.59 
percent for large enterprises. This growth can be explained by recent governmental start-up campaigns 
and specific public financing policies.