According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), the first quarter of 2026 saw the establishment of approximately 37,500 new businesses in Germany that are considered economically significant based on their legal form and employee count. This represents an increase of 2.8% compared to the same period last year. However, the number of completed activities concerning these same large businesses saw a decline of 5.7%, falling to about 28,400.
In terms of overall corporate activity, the total number of new commercial establishments reached roughly 188,900 in Q1 2026, marking a 10.1% rise from the previous year. Furthermore, the total number of commercial registrations-which includes not only new formations but also business acquisitions (such as purchases or partner entry), transformations (like mergers or spin-offs), and transfers from other registration areas-rose by 9.3% to approximately 225,300.
Conversely, the total number of completed commercial activities experienced a minor reduction. The federal office reported that in Q1 2026, there were approximately 139,400 total completed commercial activities, a decrease of 2.0% compared to the first quarter of 2025. The overall number of business deregistration events, which cover transfers of business premises (such as sales or partner exits), transformations, or transfers to other areas, decreased by 4.3% to around 167,500.