The number of corporate bankruptcies in Germany rose to its highest level in over two decades during the first quarter of the current year.
According to the Leibniz Institute for Economic Research in Halle, there were 4,573 recorded bankruptcies for partnerships and corporations in Germany during the first three months of this year. The last time numbers exceeded this figure was in the third quarter of 2005, when 4,771 bankruptcies were reported, as per data from the Federal Statistical Office.
The institute noted that these figures surpass those recorded during the financial crisis of 2009 and highlighted a significant increase in bankruptcies in March, with a rise of 71% compared to the average for March between 2016 and 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The construction and retail sectors reported their highest bankruptcy levels ever last month, and record figures were also observed regionally in Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, and North Rhine-Westphalia.
The institute tracks large corporate bankruptcies through its indicators, while micro-enterprises with limited macroeconomic importance are not included in the data.
Data indicated that fewer employees were affected by bankruptcies in March 2026 compared to February and March of last year, suggesting that the significant increase is primarily linked to the rising number of bankruptcies among small businesses. The institute anticipates that these figures will continue to rise in the upcoming quarter. Stefan Müller, head of bankruptcy research, stated, “It is possible that we will see the very high values we observed in March recurring.”
Last year, the institute had already recorded the highest annual number of bankruptcies since 2005.