The economic crisis has serious consequences for companies in Western Europe – and for many also existential consequences. According to the credit agency Creditreform, the number of company bankruptcies rose last year to the highest level since the survey began in 2002. In 2025, a good 197,610 bankruptcies were counted – an increase of 4.8 percent compared to the previous year. It was the fourth increase in a row.
“The crisis is not just economic, it is structural. Weak global trade and geopolitical risks are affecting Europe’s companies,” said the head of Creditreform economic research, Patrik-Ludwig Hantzsch. At the same time, high energy prices and bureaucracy paralyzed the competitiveness of many companies, especially in comparison with the USA and China. “This double burden eats deep into the fabric of many companies.” A further increase in cases is expected this year.
According to Hantzsch, the level of insolvency in Western Europe is higher than after the financial crisis of 2008/2009. The numbers have increased significantly in recent years. Recently the momentum has weakened somewhat, but according to the experts the situation remains at a high level.
“Europe is becoming increasingly divergent”
Last year the number of corporate bankruptcies increased in most Western European countries. The growth was particularly strong in Switzerland (+35.3 percent). According to Creditreform, this is primarily due to a change in the law at the beginning of 2025. It is said that the enforcement of public law claims has been tightened. This lowers the actual hurdle for bankruptcies.
An above-average increase in insolvencies was also recorded in Greece (+24.4 percent), Finland (+12.1 percent) and Germany (+8.8 percent) in 2025. A good 24,000 cases were counted in this country – the highest level since 2014.
However, a decline was recently recorded in six countries – including the Netherlands, Ireland and Norway. “Europe is increasingly developing apart, and the economic weakness of the central industrial countries is acting as a burden for the entire continent,” said Hantzsch.
A different picture emerges when it comes to insolvency rates. Luxembourg tops the rankings with 243 insolvencies per 10,000 companies, followed by Switzerland (197) and Denmark (168). The rates are lowest in Greece (3) and the Netherlands (13). Germany is in the middle of the field with 77. However, the significance is limited.
Services sector most affected
According to Creditreform, the numbers are only comparable to a limited extent. The insolvency laws of the different countries differ considerably, and corporate tasks cannot be handled through formal insolvency procedures everywhere. In addition, there are often multiple and different statistics on the company’s existence.
Insolvencies have recently developed at different paces in the main economic sectors. The increase in cases was greater among service providers (+8.7 percent) and in manufacturing (+3.6 percent) than in retail and hospitality (+3 percent) and in construction (+0.1 percent).
The crisis is no longer limited to industry, said expert Hantzsch. Weak consumer propensity and persistent price pressure would particularly affect consumer-related sectors. Most of the company bankruptcies in 2025 were again in the service sector, with a share of a good 43 percent.
The number of bankruptcies has recently fallen in Central and Eastern Europe. The experts see this as a catch-up effect as a result of the corona pandemic. The level of insolvency remains high in many sectors.