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The German economy shows mixed developments in the first half of 2023 in terms of business start-ups and discontinuations. According to the latest data from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), the number of start-ups of larger businesses remains almost unchanged, while new business start-ups show a significant overall increase and complete business discontinuations also rise strongly.
In the period from January to June 2023, around 62,700 establishments with a legal form and number of employees indicating greater economic importance were founded in Germany. This figure reflects a minimal decrease of 0.1% compared with the same half of the previous year. This result shows that, despite slight fluctuations, there is a constant interest in creating significant economic entities. At the same time, however, about 50,600 establishments with greater economic significance completely deregistered their trades, an increase of 12.4% compared to the first half of 2022.
It is worth highlighting the remarkable increase in new business startups overall during the same period. With approximately 317,600 startups, Germany recorded an increase of 10.2% compared to the corresponding half of the previous year. This testimony underscores the ongoing interest and commitment of entrepreneurs to build new businesses and put innovative ideas into action.
The total number of business registrations in the first half of 2023 increased by 8.9% year-on-year to around 381,200. These figures include not only new business start-ups, but also business takeovers, conversions and moves from other registration districts. This illustrates the diversity of entrepreneurial activity and the different ways in which businesses can start and grow.
Not to be ignored is the increase in trade relinquishments, which was also observed in the first half of 2023. With around 246,500 complete commercial tasks, Germany recorded a striking increase of 14.0% compared to the same half of the previous year. These figures include not only trade relinquishments, but also business transfers, conversions, and departures to other reporting districts.
The data source's methodological notes clarify the criteria for establishments of greater economic importance, including legal entities, partnerships and natural persons registered in the commercial register or employing workers. In addition, the data source highlights that technical issues have led to a change in the classification of small businesses and sideline businesses, which has limited the comparability of the results.
In summary, the statistical data for the first half of 2023 show a multifaceted picture of the corporate landscape in Germany. Despite slight fluctuations, interest in business start-ups remains, while the diversity of entrepreneurial activities plays an important role in the country's economic development.