Current ratio by sector: what the annual accounts show
The ratio of current assets to current liabilities in 789.263 filed balance sheets for financial year 2024, with the spread by sector and the reasons why a single average says nothing here.
The short answer
The current ratio, the best-known liquidity ratio, is current assets divided by current liabilities. For financial year 2024 the median was 2,08 for micro, 3,28 for small, 2,17 for medium-sized and 1,61 for large entities (by balance sheet total). The spread is wide: for small, the third quartile is 17,32.
Updated 30 October 2026
Key facts
| Definition | Current assets divided by current liabilities, from the filed balance sheet |
| Calculated for | 789.263 of the 851.125 balance sheets of 2024 |
| Median small and micro | 3,28 and 2,08; small 2023: 3,18 |
| KVK rule of thumb | 1,2 to 1,5 |
How the current ratio is calculated
Numerator: current assets as the balance sheet shows them as a total. Denominator: current liabilities. A micro balance sheet does not split by type of liability, but it does show the total of liabilities in a part with a remaining term of at most one year and a part above that (art. 2:395a(4) DCC). We take that first part as current liabilities.
Without current liabilities the ratio does not exist: dividing by zero gives no number. A balance sheet without current assets also drops out. For micro that concerns 44.527 balance sheets (10,5%), for small 14.431 (3,8%). These may be dormant BVs or holding companies without outstanding accounts; the dataset does not say.
National, per balance sheet class
| Balance sheet class | With ratio | Without ratio | p10 | p25 | Median | p75 | p90 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Micro (balance sheet up to and including € 450.000) | 378.616 | 44.527 | 0,17 | 0,81 | 2,08 | 7,90 | 38,96 |
| Small (balance sheet above € 450.000 up to and including € 7,5 mln) | 366.474 | 14.431 | 0,42 | 1,17 | 3,28 | 17,32 | 79,82 |
| Medium-sized (balance sheet above € 7,5 mln up to and including € 25 mln) | 31.289 | 1.528 | 0,17 | 0,79 | 2,17 | 15,16 | 92,22 |
| Large (balance sheet above € 25 mln) | 12.884 | 1.376 | 0,07 | 0,50 | 1,61 | 11,27 | 88,67 |
| All classes | 789.263 | 61.862 | 0,25 | 0,97 | 2,55 | 11,75 | 60,01 |
Balance sheet class small has the highest median, large the lowest. Large balance sheets consist mainly of fixed assets; current assets and current liabilities are both small there. Compared with 2023 (median small 3,18) the picture is stable.
Why a single average misleads here
In balance sheet class small, the tenth percentile is 0,42 and the ninetieth 79,82. Such a distribution has a long tail upward. A holding company with € 300.000 in the bank and € 2.000 in outstanding bills has a current ratio of 150. A few thousand such balance sheets pull an average up far, while the median does not move.
Therefore look at the middle half. For small that is 1,17 to 17,32. An operating company with a ratio of 1,40 is within the KVK rule of thumb, but below the median of 3,28 in balance sheet class small. In hospitality (0,71 – 1,45 – 3,18) and in real estate (0,38 – 1,35 – 5,71) it falls in the middle half.
By sector, financial year 2024
Sorted by the median of balance sheet class small. The last column gives the median of balance sheet class micro in the same section.
| Section (SBI 2008) | Small: balance sheets | Small: p25 – median – p75 | Micro: median |
|---|---|---|---|
| K · Financial institutions and financial holding companies | 94.877 | 1,32 – 6,75 – 33,02 | 3,18 |
| Q · Health and social care | 5.027 | 1,44 – 4,24 – 19,60 | 2,44 |
| M · Advisory and research, including non-financial holding companies | 35.369 | 1,11 – 3,36 – 17,01 | 2,21 |
| A · Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 4.617 | 0,96 – 2,19 – 6,44 | 1,72 |
| G · Wholesale and retail trade, cars | 20.046 | 1,31 – 2,18 – 4,55 | 1,57 |
| B · Mining and quarrying | 94 | 1,01 – 2,01 – 6,57 | 1,97 |
| S · Other services | 688 | 1,06 – 1,97 – 5,53 | 1,52 |
| P · Education | 785 | 1,12 – 1,90 – 5,26 | 1,64 |
| C · Manufacturing | 7.052 | 1,23 – 1,89 – 3,41 | 1,54 |
| F · Construction | 8.530 | 1,17 – 1,84 – 3,57 | 1,79 |
| J · Information and communication | 4.710 | 1,04 – 1,79 – 4,21 | 1,80 |
| E · Water and waste | 362 | 1,08 – 1,73 – 3,02 | 1,37 |
| H · Transport and storage | 4.218 | 1,00 – 1,58 – 3,06 | 1,49 |
| D · Energy | 718 | 0,63 – 1,57 – 5,46 | 1,00 |
| N · Rental and other business services | 5.635 | 1,01 – 1,55 – 2,97 | 1,56 |
| R · Culture, sport and recreation | 1.684 | 0,79 – 1,48 – 4,10 | 1,20 |
| I · Hospitality | 3.141 | 0,71 – 1,45 – 3,18 | 0,96 |
| L · Real estate | 12.056 | 0,38 – 1,35 – 5,71 | 1,61 |
Real estate has the lowest median for small (1,35), section K the highest (6,75). In real estate, the first quartile is 0,38. That fits companies that finance properties with loans: next year's repayment is in current liabilities, while the property itself is a fixed asset. For micro, hospitality is at the bottom, with a median of 0,96.
Worked example: a restaurant-pub as a micro BV
A restaurant-pub in a BV has € 60.000 of current assets on 31 December: drinks stock, cash and bank. Liabilities with a maturity of at most one year are € 75.000: suppliers, VAT, payroll tax and next year's repayment. The current ratio is 60.000 / 75.000 = 0,80.
By the KVK rule of thumb (1,2 to 1,5) that is too low. In hospitality it is not unusual: the median of balance sheet class micro in section I was 0,96 over 2024, the first quartile 0,35. Guests pay immediately, suppliers later; there are hardly any receivables. The restaurant-pub is therefore in the lower half of the sector, above the first quartile. Whether it can pay its bills is shown by a liquidity budget, not by a single ratio.
Current ratio or quick ratio?
The quick ratio leaves inventory out of the numerator. From the open dataset it cannot be calculated reliably: inventory is shown separately on only 4,5% of micro balance sheets and 15,3% of small ones. For the rest it is often not visible whether there is inventory. We therefore publish only the current ratio. You calculate your own quick ratio with the key ratio calculator.
Source and licence
Source: KVK Business Register Open Dataset Annual Accounts, adaptation Jaarrekening.io, CC BY 4.0. Data downloaded and processed on 2 November 2026.
Calculation, definitions, limitations and the download of all cells: method and sources.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
What is a good current ratio?
According to the KVK, a current ratio of 1,2 to 1,5 is considered healthy. In the filed balance sheets for financial year 2024 the median was 3,28 in balance sheet class small and 2,08 in balance sheet class micro, but this differs strongly by sector: for small from 1,35 (real estate) to 6,75 (section K, with the holding companies). Compare with your own sector and also look at a liquidity budget.
Why is the current ratio of my holding company so high?
A holding company often has money in the bank or a receivable from its subsidiary, and almost no current liabilities. The denominator then becomes small and the ratio large. In section K, which includes the financial holding companies, the median in balance sheet class small for financial year 2024 was 6,75 and the third quartile 33,02. For a holding company a high ratio says little about the liquidity of the group.
Why does not every set of annual accounts count for the current ratio?
Without current liabilities or without current assets the ratio cannot be calculated. For financial year 2024 that applied to 44.527 micro balance sheets (10,5%) and 14.431 small ones (3,8%). These may be dormant BVs or holding companies without outstanding accounts.
In which sector is the current ratio lowest?
In balance sheet class small, real estate (section L) had the lowest median for financial year 2024: 1,35. In balance sheet class micro it was hospitality (section I) at 0,96. In both cases a low ratio is partly inherent to the business model: properties with loans, or guests who pay immediately.
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