Establishments
Introduction
The data on companies (enterprises) are from two different sources.
Chamber of Commerce
Tables 1 and 2 show the number of companies registered at the Trade
Register of the Chamber of Commerce. These include some twentythousand
off-shore companies which are registered for fiscal reasons in the
Netherlands Antilles, but do not exercise economic activities here.
Also the Trade Register includes all legal entities, whether they
are economically active or not.
CBS 1998 Establishment Census
The second set of tables starting with table 4 is based on the CBS
business census of 19981). For operational purposes the CBS uses a
different definition of businesses based on the following three conditions:
- goods or services should be produced with the intention of selling
these on the market;
- the entity should be free to make its own decisions concerning
the production process or
- - at least one person should work there on a regular basis for
at least 15 hours a week; or
- turnover for the last fiscal year should be at least 50 thousand
guilders;
- total assets should be at least 50 thousand guilders at the end
of the last fiscal year.
The third condition means that very small businesses were not counted.
Government services and departments as well as foundations that are
completely subsidized by the government were excluded. Finally other
groups were excluded from the census. These are:
- independent bus or taxi drivers
- the independent salespersons of the state lottery agency (Landsloterij)
- small independent fishermen and farmers
- market vendors
- small independent credit suppliers
- owners of bread trucks.
The definition used in the 1998 business census differs in some aspects
from the one used in the 1993 establishment census. Comparisons between
the two censuses should be made with utmost precaution.
One business can have several establishments: one main establishment
and one or more subsidiaries. A subsidiary is counted separately when
it is located physically separate from the main establishment.
In the 1998 business census a distinction was introduced between
small, medium and large enterprises using the following criteria:
- large companies have 50 employees or more and a turnover
of 5 million guilders or more
- small companies have less than 10 employees and a turnover
of less than half a million guilders
- medium companies come in between, these are companies with between
10 and 50
- employees and a turnover between half a million and 5 million
guilders as well as companies that fulfil only one of the two criteria
for small or large companies.
Within the category of small companies a separate group of micro
companies is distinguished. Micro companies have less than 5 employees
and a turnover of less than half a million guilders.
1) In some of the tables from the business census only
the three larger islands are mentioned separately. In that case the
totals of these islands do not always add up to the country totals.
The difference is made by the islands of Saba and St. Eustatius.
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