Press releases

Although the Chinese government has repeatedly used access to raw materials and intermediate goods as a political lever in recent years, many companies continue to rely on supplies from China. As a result, the value of goods imported from China, after a temporary decline, rose significantly again in …

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The number of new businesses is on the rise again in the commercial sector, the liberal professions and in agriculture and forestry (the non-commercial sector): in 2025, a total of around 395,000 full-time self-employed businesses were established.

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At the end of 2025, turnover and profits of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have increased. By contrast, investment activity, which had increased over the course of 2025, showed a slight decline towards the year-end.

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Digital transformation is advancing in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Germany: More than a third of SMEs had a "high" to "very high" level of digital intensity in 2025.

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The Expert Commission for Research and Innovation (EFI), including IfM President Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Friederike Welter, today presented its new annual report to Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

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There is broad consensus among family businesses in Germany that an ecological transition is necessary. But from the perspective of the Mittelstand, the key question at present is how companies can achieve a climate-friendly transformation while at the same time remaining competitive.

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As in the past four years, the issue of "skilled workers/demographic development“was the biggest challenge for entrepreneurs in 2025: According to the survey, four in ten companies find it difficult to recruit qualified staff despite the current economic slowdown.

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According to estimates by the IfM Bonn, a succession will be due in around 186,000 companies over the next five years, as their owners are expected to step down from management because of age, illness or death.

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The IfM is the academic research centre for the Mittelstand. It arose from a letter exchange between Ludwig Erhard and Konrad Adenauer. These roots show that SMEs are more than just an economic factor.

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The geopolitical situation and increasingly fragile trade relations are currently posing particular challenges for export-oriented small and medium-sized enterprises. At the same time, the expanding defence sector for example also offers opportunities for companies that are prepared to change their …

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Despite numerous geopolitical challenges, Small and Medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) generated €2.8 trillion in 2023, according to the most recent data available. This was 28% of Germany’s total turnover.

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In 2024, most people started their own freelance businesses in Berlin, followed by Hamburg, Munich and Cologne.

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The number of new entrepreneurial initiatives is back above pre-pandemic levels in all of Germany

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Die Anzahl der Auszubildenden in der gewerblichen Wirtschaft und in den Freien Berufen ist in 2024 um rund 19.000 gegenüber dem Vorjahr gestiegen. Insgesamt lag sie Ende Dezember 2024 bei 1,52 Millionen.

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For many self-employed craftswomen in North Rhine-Westphalia, pregnancy brings not only joyful anticipation but also significant physical and financial strain. This is the finding of a recent survey conducted by the Institut für Mittelstandsforschung (IfM) Bonn on behalf of the Ministry of Economic …

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