Business Formations in Germany in 2026: A Sector Overview

When starting a business, you want to understand your market. Are new providers entering it? Which sectors see many formations? What can you learn from that when planning your own business identity?

This article considers the first half of 2026. At the research date, 12 October 2026, the year is still underway. The figures describe commercial business formations; they are not a complete census of self-employment or an overview of every economic trend.

What do these figures count?

The IfM Bonn half-year overview reports 126,453 commercial business formations and 16,769 takeovers. Together they make 143,222 commercial start-ups under its broader definition. A takeover therefore does not necessarily represent an additional business opening.

The methodology treats side businesses separately and excludes the liberal professions. Its “genuine small business” category uses an estimate. These figures are consequently not an exact count of every new business.

Sector figures: January to June 2026

These figures come from IfM Bonn's sector table. We calculate “new formations” by adding head-office business formations and “genuine” small-business formations. Takeovers are separate. WZ identifies the position in the WZ 2008 classification. The selection and the O–S grouping follow the source; do not add the rows as an independently complete sector classification.

• A — Agriculture: New formations 487; Takeovers 99.
• B — Mining: New formations 15; Takeovers 10.
• C — Manufacturing: New formations 3,466; Takeovers 600.
• D — Energy: New formations 1,450; Takeovers 160.
• E — Water/waste: New formations 198; Takeovers 27.
• F — Construction: New formations 15,535; Takeovers 531.
• G — Trade/vehicles: New formations 21,362; Takeovers 4,253.
• H — Transport/storage: New formations 6,329; Takeovers 332.
• I — Hospitality: New formations 11,483; Takeovers 7,394.
• J — Information/communications: New formations 7,778; Takeovers 95.
• K — Finance/insurance: New formations 6,091; Takeovers 77.
• L — Property: New formations 4,263; Takeovers 166.
• M — Professional services: New formations 12,488; Takeovers 231.
• N — Other business services: New formations 16,474; Takeovers 562.
• O–S — Personal/public services, source grouping: New formations 11,098; Takeovers 1,580.
• P — Education: New formations 2,486; Takeovers 163.
• Q — Health/social care: New formations 3,361; Takeovers 138.
• R — Arts/leisure: New formations 2,090; Takeovers 351.

Labels are shortened for this overview. The linked source contains the full German descriptions and more detailed categories. Estimation and rounding can cause small differences between calculated figures and published totals.

What your business can take from this

Our interpretation is that these figures help generate questions for a market review. On their own, they establish neither local demand nor an individual business's prospects. A new provider may serve a different segment, operate in another region or have a substantially different offer.

Look at actual competitors in your market. Who do they address? How do they explain the scope of their services? What supporting evidence do they show? Compare those answers with your own presence. A national formation count does not replace this research.

The distinction between formation and takeover matters practically, too. A newly founded business needs to build its first references. An acquired business may bring established processes, customers and expectations. Those starting points create different requirements for communication and the website.

Which comparisons to avoid

In its current summary, IfM flags miscoding in municipalities in the first half of 2025. We therefore do not present a straightforward ranking of annual growth rates here.

Also avoid combining differently defined measures. Business registrations, company formations and commercial start-ups do not represent the same population. Check the period, geography and definition of each announcement before comparing it with another number.

A useful next step

Choose your sector and turn the overview into three practical questions: who is my suitable customer? What distinguishes my offer in a verifiable way? What information is missing from my website that would help a prospect recognise those differences?

For help shaping those answers, read What Your Brand Says When You Say Nothing. Our branding services help translate these decisions into an understandable business identity. Talk to us about your business.