Total early-stage entrepreneurial activity (TEA) in Germany reached a new record high of 7.6% in 2019, according to the 2019/2020 German National Report published by Leibniz Universität Hannover. This is the highest percentage since Germany’s involvement with GEM in 1999. Men were 9.5% TEA and women 5.7%.
Despite the TEA percentage increase, Germany only ranks number 28 of 33 among high-income countries that are covered in the latest GEM rankings.
Other report findings:
- Regarding the age of the entrepreneurs, the two youngest groups have the highest TEA rates: 10.1% for those in 18-24 age category and 11.8 % for those 25-34 years old. These rates are two and a half times more than the rate for those 55-64 years old.
- Almost half of the TEA start-ups are founded by teams. 52.9 % of the TEA-entrepreneurs are founding solo. On average, 2.14 persons are involved in the TEA-start-ups.
- Migrants are starting companies more frequently than nationals. In 2019 the TEA rate of migrants in Germany was 11.8 %, compared to 7.4 % for German nationals. Out of the migrant TEA-entrepreneurs, every second one is started due to a lack of employment alternatives.
- In general, the number one reason to become an entrepreneur in Germany is to continue family tradition (68%), followed by the wish to change the world (44%). The two economic motives rank lower (43% to earn a living; 32% to increase income).
- The fear of failure would not prevent 63% of the Germans from becoming entrepreneurs. Germany rank 7th out of the 33 high-income countries. 52.2% of the Germans perceive positive opportunities to become an entrepreneur, while 46% perceive their own skills to be sufficient to become an entrepreneur. Men perceive their skills to be sufficient significantly more frequently than women.
- National entrepreneurship experts, who were surveyed in the national expert survey (NES), saw an overall positive situation for entrepreneurship in Germany. Germany ranks 13 out of the 33 high-income countries in the National Entrepreneurship Context Index, a ranking based on country expert assessments of 12 entrepreneurship conditions.
- According to the experts, entrepreneurship education in Germany is still capable of development, while the protection of intellectual property and public support for entrepreneurship is seen positively.
The 2019/2020 Report and all other Country Reports of Germany can be downloaded at the following link.
For questions contact gem@wigeo.uni-hannover.de.