Where the survival rate of start-ups is highest
The Corona pandemic has fueled start-up fever: In most European countries, many new small businesses have been raised. When it comes to the survival rate of startups, large differences between countries become apparent.
Not only in the Switzerland, but also in the EU area, the number of newly founded companies rose sharply last year. Faced with a wave of layoffs and redundancies, and with people spending more time at home, they have seized the opportunity to start their own small businesses. This has led to an increase in the number of microbusinesses - companies with fewer than 10 employees - worldwide. The financing platform Money.co.uk wanted to find out which countries are best able to produce durable microenterprises and examined the performance of companies with one to nine employees in 28 different European countries (excluding Ireland, Greece, Cyprus, Malta, northern Macedonia and Serbia). The study was particularly interested in what percentage of these businesses survived over a five-year period. However: the figures are based on the period between 2013 and 2018; the impact of the pandemic is therefore not yet reflected.
Survival rate of start-ups highest in France
According to the Money.co.uk research, France is the best country for microenterprise survival. Over a five-year period, the survival rate of start-up businesses in France is 75 %. In 2013, there were 46,549 microenterprises in France, of which 35,060 were still active five years later.
Sweden ranks second with a five-year survival rate of 73 %. In 2013, the country established 17,574 microenterprises, of which 12,908 survived the five-year period. Slovakia follows in third place with a microenterprise survival rate of 70 %. Slovakia had 18,949 microenterprises in 2013, of which 13,328 survived five years.
In Denmark, less than half survive the first five years
On the other hand, Denmark is the country with the lowest survival rate for startups. Although more than 8,000 microenterprises were founded there in 2013, only 3,458 survived the five-year period, meaning that the survival rate in Denmark is only 42 %. The United Kingdom ranked second with a survival rate of 43 %. However, the UK had the most companies that survived five years - a whopping 114,590, twice as many as any other country. Poland ranked third with a survival rate of 44 %. The country produced nearly 36,000 microenterprises, but fewer than 16,000 survived five years.
The countries with the most microenterprises after five years
Although survival rates vary by around 30 % between the best and worst countries, money.co.uk also wanted to find out which countries produced the most companies that survived the five-year period. At the top, as mentioned, is the United Kingdom with 114,590 companies. Turkey follows in second place with 56395 companies that have survived the first five years of their existence. In third place with 35060 companies is France.
The situation in Switzerland
Switzerland finds itself in the lower midfield in 19th place in the Money.co.uk survey, on a par with Hungary and Spain. In these countries, 52 percent of new companies survived the first five years; in Switzerland, the figure is 6363 companies out of 12334 startups. A direct comparison with our neighbor to the north, Germany, is interesting: there, only 47 percent of the new microenterprises founded since 2013 survived the first five years.
Professional support for start-ups can significantly increase the chance of survival. The IFJ Institute for Young Enterprises notes that start-ups supported by it have a noticeably higher survival rate: After five years, 87 percent of the supported companies still exist.
Click here for the complete ranking. Source: money.co.uk
