BERLIN, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Germany saw a significant rise in business closures last year, with 196,100 companies shutting down, a 16 percent increase from 2023.
According to a report released Wednesday by the Creditreform agency and the Leibniz Center for European Economic Research (ZEW), the figure also marks the highest number of closures since 2011, when the aftermath of the financial crisis disrupted the German economy.
"The closure figures are alarming across all sectors," said Patrik-Ludwig Hantzsch, an economic researcher at Creditreform. "Industrial companies, in particular, are struggling with high energy costs in production, while competitive pressure from foreign suppliers continues to rise."
In energy-intensive sectors, 1,050 business closures were recorded, a 26 percent increase from 2023. The pharmaceutical, chemical, and healthcare industries also saw an unusually high number of closures.
While closures have traditionally affected small, owner-managed businesses, an increasing number of larger, economically active companies have also been impacted in recent years. In 2024, over 4,050 such companies were deregistered, almost twice as many as in an average year. It is the third consecutive year of such sharp increases.
"This is a clear warning to policymakers," Hantzsch said. "Many companies are relocating their production abroad, closing locations, or ceasing investment in Germany altogether." As a result, the German economy is increasingly losing its industrial base and expertise, he added. ■
