German insolvencies at highest level since 2014 amid economic woes

The number of German businesses that filed for insolvency last year surged to the highest level since 2014 as Europe's biggest economy struggles to regain momentum, official figures showed on Friday.

Local courts registered 24,064 claims for insolvency in 2025, up 10.3% compared to the previous year, the Federal Statistical Office said in a statement.

In December alone, company bankruptcies surged by nearly 14%.

Germany, traditionally the strongest economy in Europe, has been struggling from a persistent downturn triggered by the coronavirus pandemic and intensified by the war in Ukraine.

Last year, the economy narrowly grew by 0.2%, following two consecutive years of recession in 2023 and 2024 which both saw bankruptcy figures surge by over 20%.

While the increase has subsided compared to those years, the absolute number of insolvencies recorded in 2025 was the highest since 2014, when 24,085 firms had to throw in the towel.

The highest ever number of companies bankruptcies was recorded at the peak of the global financial crisis in 2009 with 32,687.

Germany's economic woes have also fuelled consumer insolvencies, which climbed 8.4% to 77,219 last year.

The sectors most affected by company bankruptcies were transport and storage as well as hospitality and construction.

According to local courts, creditors' claims from corporate insolvencies amounted to around €47.9 billion ($54.8 billion) in 2025 – significantly less than the €58.1 billion recorded in the previous year, which saw more larger firms file for insolvency.

The National Association of German Cooperative Banks said it was cautiously optimistic that the insolvency situation will improve this year if the Iran war ends within a few weeks and energy prices fall rapidly again.