Key Takeaways
- Germany saw a sharp rise in business closures in 2025, highlighting the growing pressure on companies across several parts of Europe’s largest economy.
- Around 15,000 businesses closed, an increase of about 15% year on year.
- The healthcare sector also recorded close to 11,000 closures, while around 11,000 industrial companies stopped operating, up roughly 10% from the previous year.
Germany saw a sharp rise in business closures in 2025, highlighting the growing pressure on companies across several parts of Europe’s largest economy.
Around 187,700 businesses closed during the year, nearly 10% more than in 2024 and the highest level in almost two decades, according to an annual analysis by Creditreform and the Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
The hospitality sector was among the hardest hit. Around 15,000 businesses closed, an increase of about 15% year on year. The healthcare sector also recorded close to 11,000 closures, while around 11,000 industrial companies stopped operating, up roughly 10% from the previous year.
Businesses in Germany continue to face a combination of challenges including high energy costs, labour shortages, regulatory pressure and wider geopolitical uncertainty. It is important to note that not all closures were bankruptcies, many companies also shut down voluntarily or because owners could not find successors.
Dubai Shows a Different Direction
While Germany is dealing with rising business closures, Dubai continues to attract new companies and international investment.
In 2025, 71,830 new companies joined the Dubai Chamber of Commerce, taking the number of active members to 292,486, an increase of 13.2% compared with 2024.
Dubai’s wider economy also expanded by 5.4% in 2025, reaching approximately AED 937 billion in GDP. The emirate continued to attract investment across business services, tourism, logistics, real estate, technology and financial services.
The figures are not a direct like-for-like comparison—Germany is an entire national economy while Dubai is one emirate, and business closures are different from new company registrations. However, they highlight an important contrast in business momentum.
At a time when companies in some mature European markets are facing rising costs and operational pressure, Dubai continues to position itself as a destination for entrepreneurs, investors and international companies looking for growth, connectivity and a business environment designed to attract new investment.
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