Overview
- Creditreform estimates 23,900 company insolvencies for 2025, up about 8% year over year and the highest total since 2014.
- Insolvency rates rose in all 16 states, led by Berlin at 130 per 10,000 companies, with North Rhine-Westphalia posting about 6,320 cases and a rate of 100, while Thuringia recorded the lowest rate at 48.
- Micro businesses account for over 81% of cases (roughly 19,500 firms), yet 140 larger insolvencies also occurred, including hospital operators, care providers, retailers such as Hammer and Kodi, and manufacturer Meyer Burger.
- The services sector generates the most cases, with the sharpest increases in retail and manufacturing; Allianz Trade counted 2,490 retail insolvencies from August 2024 to August 2025, near a decade-high.
- Creditreform pegs creditor losses at about €57 billion and roughly 285,000 jobs threatened or lost, and it does not foresee a reversal in 2026 even though federal investments could only moderate the trend.