In 2025 German district courts registered 24,064 company insolvency filings. According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) on Friday, this represents a 10.3 % increase over 2024, following rises of more than 20 % in both 2024 (+22.4 %) and 2023 (+22.1 %). The number of corporate insolvencies exceeded that level only in 2014, with 24,085 cases. During the 2009 financial crisis the count spiked to 32,687.
It should be noted that filings enter the statistics only after the first decision by the insolvency court. In many cases the actual filing occurs about three months earlier.
Claims from the 2025 company insolvencies were estimated at roughly €47.9 billion, down from about €58.1 billion the previous year. The decline in claim totals, despite more filings, is due to a smaller share of economically significant companies applying for insolvency in 2025. That year there were 15.6 % fewer (49 fewer) “large insolvencies” each with a claim threshold of €25 million, than in 2024.
On a firm‑level basis, 2025 saw 69 corporate insolvencies per 10,000 businesses. The sector with the highest frequency was transportation and storage, at 133 cases per 10,000 firms, followed by hospitality (108), construction (104), and other economic services such as temporary employment agencies (100).
In December 2025 the courts recorded 2,037 corporate filings, an increase of 13.7 % compared with the same month the previous year. Creditors’ claims that month amounted to €3.6 billion, versus €5.8 billion in December 2024.
Consumer insolvencies also rose in 2025, tallying 77,219-a 8.4 % increase over 2024. December alone saw 6,278 consumer filings, up 12.3 % from the previous year’s equivalent period, according to Destatis.
