The number of corporate bankruptcies in Germany hit a 13-year high in the first half of the year

Data released by the German Federal Statistics Office on Friday (September 11) showed that in the first half of this year, the number of bankruptcies in German companies reached the highest level in 13 years. Specifically, local courts accepted a total of 12,812 corporate bankruptcy applications, an increase of 6.7% over the same period last year and the highest number since 2013. In the first half of 2013, there were 13,253 corporate bankruptcies.

Data show that companies in the transportation and warehousing industries have been particularly severely affected this time, followed by the hotel and construction industries.

High costs, bureaucracy and a weak economy are the reasons for this.

"The long-term sluggish domestic economy, high and rising energy and labor costs, and overly cumbersome bureaucratic procedures are killing many companies," said Marc Evers, an expert on small and medium-sized enterprises at the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK).

In June alone, the number of corporate bankruptcies in Germany hit a 14-year high. Mark Evers pointed out that in order to get rid of this bad situation, the government must not deviate from the reform path now: "To get rid of the record number of bankruptcies, we need to quickly implement the reform measures that have been agreed upon and develop an economic policy that refocuses the competitiveness of enterprises."

At the same time, however, an entrepreneurial boom is taking off. According to statistics from the German Entrepreneurship Association, from January to June this year, the number of newly established start-up companies in Germany reached 3,053, a record high and an increase of 52% over the same period last year.

The German economy has been hit by a wave of bankruptcies for some time. According to data from the German Federal Statistics Office, the number of bankruptcies filed by German companies surged by 10% last year to 24,064, the highest level since 2014. In 2023 and 2024, the number of corporate bankruptcies in Germany will increase by more than 20% each year.