In 2024, the number of businesses going bankrupt increased by 13.2% in comparison with the previous year, and companies from the construction industry filed for bankruptcy most often. 52,977 new companies were set up in 2024, which set a fresh record, but the net growth fell slightly because more companies were deleted from the commercial register than in the previous year.
CRIF AG has analysed how many new businesses were set up in 2024, how many companies filed for bankruptcy and how many businesses had been completely deleted from the register.
Filings for bankruptcy
Across the whole of Switzerland, the level of bankruptcies rose by 13.2% in 2024.
The Cantons of Graubünden, Geneva, Basel-Landschaft and Zug recorded the highest percentage increases. On the other hand, there was a fall in the number of bankruptcies recorded by the Cantons of Freiburg, Basel-Stadt and Valais.
The highest number of bankruptcies was reported in the construction industry (1,553), followed by the food and drink sector (986) and the retail trade (715). In percentage terms, there was a sharp increase in filings for bankruptcy in the sectors involving land transport and transport via pipelines (+23%), the motor vehicle trade (+22.5%) and architect’s offices (+19.9%).
A larger number of new company start-ups, but a decline in growth
A total of 52,977 new businesses were set up throughout Switzerland. This represents an increase of 2.6% compared with the previous year. Over the same period, 32,616 companies were deleted from the commercial register, which represents an increase of 5.9% in deletions compared with the previous year. The net growth in the total number of companies thus fell by 2.3%. Most of the new entries were in the Cantons of Zurich (9,620), Vaud (5,299) and Bern (4,370).
New businesses were established most frequently in the retail trade (4,648) (though the number of new start-ups fell by 5.4% compared with the previous year). This was followed by the management consultancy sector (4,067), the construction industry (3,787) and real estate activities (3,465). In percentage terms, the highest growth was reported by the building services sector (+11.8%), the real estate sector (+8.5%) and the provision of financial services (+7.7%).
About the survey
This survey took into account all those businesses that were entered into the commercial register for the first time between 1st January 2024 and 31th December 2024, together with those companies that filed for bankruptcy and all those businesses that were deleted from the commercial register during this time. For example, a company might be deleted automatically if it is dissolved; if bankruptcy proceedings are instigated; at the end of the liquidity deadline; if it is subject to mergers; or if a company is closed as a result of a lack of any plans for succession.
