Despite the economic downturn, more larger companies were founded in Germany in 2023. The increased number of closed companies shows that the economic situation is also demanding victims.
Last year, around 118,500 companies were founded in Germany, whose legal form and number of employees indicate greater economic importance. This was announced by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). It was 2.9 percent more than in 2022.
However, the weak economy, increased energy prices, higher interest rates and financing costs also have consequences. Last year, 96,600 larger businesses closed, an increase of 7.9 percent. For example, rising interest rates mean higher borrowing costs for companies, which tends to make debt and investments more expensive for companies.
“However, in 2023, as in all years since the time series began in 2003, the number of business start-ups was higher than the number of business closures,” said the statisticians.
Framework conditions remain difficult
According to Destatis, there were a total of around 593,200 new businesses founded last year. This corresponds to an increase of 6.9 percent. There is also a positive trend in business registrations. In addition to new start-ups, business takeovers (such as purchases or shareholder acquisitions), transformations (for example mergers or spin-offs) and immigration from other reporting districts are also included here. There was an increase of 6.2 percent to around 715,000.
The total number of complete commercial abandonments increased by 8.3 percent to around 486,900 in the past year. The number of business de-registrations increased by 7.0 percent to around 602,700.
The German economy shrank by 0.3 percent in 2023. The economic conditions for entrepreneurs are likely to remain difficult this year. The federal government only expects a meager increase of 0.2 percent for the current year. The German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, for example, is more pessimistic and expects the economy to shrink by 0.5 percent.
Weak forecasts for 2024
The economists at the Ifo Institute lowered their forecast for 2024 from 0.9 to 0.7 percent in January, and the IfW from 1.3 to 0.9 percent in December. They want to present new forecasts in March. The trade union-affiliated Institute for Macroeconomics and Economic Research (IMK) currently expects a decline in economic output of 0.3 percent.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has also become more pessimistic in its new forecast from the beginning of February. The experts assume that the German economy will grow by 0.3 percent this year. The forecast has therefore been halved compared to November.