Insolvency check: Where insolvencies are highest relative to new businesses
How stable is Germany as a business location? Our latest analysis shows that between 2023 and 2025, the 20 largest German cities recorded 13,197 insolvencies against 105,907 new business establishments, an insolvency rate of 12.46 percent. In Wuppertal, there were around 28 insolvencies for every 100 new business establishments during this period. In Bremen, the rate was just 8.4 percent.
Ranking: Wuppertal, Bielefeld and Münster with the highest rates
When the number of insolvencies is compared to the number of new business establishments, Wuppertal clearly leads with 28.2 percent. Between 2023 and 2025, 994 businesses were established there and 280 insolvency proceedings were opened. Wuppertal is followed by Bielefeld (20.6 percent), Münster (18.6 percent), Nuremberg (15.0 percent) and Essen (14.4 percent). The lowest rates were recorded in Bremen (8.4 percent), Hanover and Munich (10.4 percent each), Hamburg (11.1 percent) and Stuttgart (11.6 percent).
“Wuppertal has had the highest insolvency rate over the past three years: between 2023 and 2025, 994 businesses were established there and 280 insolvency proceedings were opened. That corresponds to a rate of 28.2 percent. Our rate shows how new beginnings and insolvencies relate to each other in a city. In Wuppertal, comparatively many insolvencies face few new businesses. In Bremen, it is the other way around. Where few businesses are founded, fewer companies emerge that could replace those that become insolvent. The rate says nothing about the chances of success of an individual start-up, because the insolvent companies may have been founded many years ago,” explains Sara Ramzani, Vice President for Academic Affairs at Gisma University of Applied Sciences.
Year-on-year comparison: More start-ups lower the rate in 2025
Across the 20 cities, the insolvency rate rose from 11.3 percent in 2023 to 13.5 percent in 2024. In 2025, it fell to 12.6 percent. The reason lies in the number of start-ups: insolvencies remained almost at the previous year’s level in 2025 with 4,647 proceedings, while new business establishments rose by 6.5 percent to 36,933. This does not mean that the insolvency situation has eased. Ten of the 20 cities recorded more insolvencies in 2025 than in the previous year.
Wuppertal at the top every year
Wuppertal had the highest rate in all three years, ranging between 25 and 35 percent. Bielefeld was also near the top in 2023 and 2024, at 23.6 and 28.0 percent. In 2025, its rate fell to 14.6 percent as the number of new business establishments rose by three quarters. In Münster, the rate fluctuated strongly, between 13.1 and 23.6 percent.
Where the rate is rising and where it is falling
In five cities, the rate rose in each of the three years: Bochum, Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Hamburg and Stuttgart. The sharpest increase was in Stuttgart, from 8.2 to 14.8 percent. In Essen, by contrast, the rate declined every year, from 17.6 to 12.1 percent.
“A good business idea alone does not guarantee economic viability. Founders need to understand how costs, demand and payment terms affect their liquidity. Financial literacy means recognizing risks early and making well-founded decisions before room for maneuver narrows. As a university, we see it as our task to prepare students to evaluate data critically and to translate this knowledge into responsible entrepreneurial action,” says Sara Ramzani, Vice President for Academic Affairs at Gisma University of Applied Sciences.
Absolute numbers: Berlin, Hamburg and Munich with the most insolvencies
In terms of the absolute number of insolvency proceedings, Berlin leads with 3,782 cases over the three-year period, ahead of Hamburg (1,890) and Munich (970). Berlin also has the most new business establishments among the cities surveyed: with 30,026 between 2023 and 2025, it accounts for more than a quarter of all business establishments in the study. Relative to this, its high absolute number of insolvencies results in a rate of 12.6 percent.
The fewest insolvency proceedings were recorded in Bonn (198), Duisburg (211) and Münster (218).
About the study
For the analysis, the 20 largest cities in Germany were selected, and data on new business establishments and opened corporate insolvency proceedings for the years 2023 to 2025 were collected. The analysis is based on the Regional Database of Germany (Regionaldatenbank Deutschland), in particular the tables “Business registrations” (52311-01-04-4) and “Insolvency proceedings – companies” (52411-02-01-4). Only corporate insolvency proceedings were included. Insolvencies of consumers and other private individuals are not included. The data for Leipzig and Dresden come from the database of the Statistical Office of Saxony.
For start-ups, only the category of new business establishments (Betriebsgründungen) was evaluated. Official statistics define these as start-ups of greater economic significance: those founded by corporations and partnerships, and by individuals who are entered in the commercial register, hold a craft trade card or employ at least one person. Small businesses and part-time start-ups are not included.
The Regional Database currently contains insolvency figures only up to 2024. The figures for 2025 were obtained from the statistical offices of the respective federal states. In the final step, new business establishments and insolvencies were set in relation to each other for each city to calculate a comparable insolvency rate.