More than 50'000 new companies established in 2021

For more than two years, the COVID 19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the Swiss economy but in contrast to what was expected at the beginning, the crisis has been an opportunity for many people. This can be seen in the study "National Annual Analysis of Swiss Company Formations 2021" by IFJ Insititut für Jungunternehmen. For the first time in Switzerland's history, more than 50,000 companies were founded within one year.

All major regions and all large cantons show an impressive increase. In Zurich 8866 companies have been incorporated (+5,1%), in Vaud 4825 (+8,8%) in Bern 4402 (+11,5%), and in Geneva 4123 (+6.5%).

In Switzerland, the limited liability company (LLC) is by far the most popular legal form when it comes to establishing a new company. A total of 19'529 (+6,8%) new LLC were registered in 2021. The largest increase compared to the previous year was recorded by the public limited company (Ltd., AG, SA) with +13,2%. For the first time more than 10’000 public limited companies have been incorporated.

In terms of incorporation by sector, all but 5 sectors have shown growth over the previous year. Among the sectors with the highest growth in 2021, we find B2C & B2B services (in particular placement services, assistance services, photography, business services, etc. and personal services) with +32.3%, retail trade with +17.5%, agriculture & forestry +17.2% as well as Finance & Insurance with +17.1%. On the other hand, there is a decrease in the Marketing & Communication sector (-7.3%), Transport & Logistics (-4.1%) as well as in Wholesale Trade (-2.9%).

In the last decade, the number of incorporations in Switzerland has risen from under 40,000 to over 50,000. The economic relevance of newly founded companies becomes impressively clear when one considers the number of jobs created in Switzerland in the long term. Around 400,000 employees work in companies that are less than 10 years old.

(Press release / SK)