CRIF AG has looked at the changes occurring in the stock of businesses during 2021. Despite the coronavirus pandemic, the number of companies operating in Switzerland grew by 3.4%. In 2020, the growth was 2.8%.
The most powerful net growth occurred in the Cantons of Schwyz and Zug, at 4.7%, followed by the Cantons of Thurgau (at 4.5%) and Solothurn (at 4.0%). The Canton of Zurich is economically strong, but its results are at the average level for Switzerland (3.4%). A negative growth (at -0.4%) was reported by the Canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden. The Canton of Ticino was in third worst place, with a growth in start-up numbers of 1.6%; however, this southerly Canton’s growth of 1.6% for 2021 improved its position by 0.7% compared with 2020.
The number of newly-established businesses grew by 50544, which is equivalent to an increase of 7.9% compared with the previous year. The largest number of new entries in the Commercial Register occurred in the Cantons of Zurich (8,864), Vaud (4,825) and Bern (4,401). In percentage terms, the Canton of Schaffhausen achieved the highest growth, with 27.4% more new start-ups compared with the previous year. The Canton of Zug also experienced a sharp rise of 24.3%.
A look at the individual sectors reveals that start-ups were most frequent in the retail trade (4,313), followed by the management consultancy sector (3,697) and the construction industry (3,492).
The finance sector reported 18% more business start-ups compared with the previous year.
In contrast, the wholesale trade saw a fall of 7.2% new start-ups compared with 2020.
About the survey process
We have taken into consideration all those businesses that were newly entered into the commercial register in the period ranging from 1st January 2021 to 31st December 2021 , together with all the businesses that were deleted from the commercial register during the same period. A business may, for example, be deleted automatically at its dissolution for official reasons, at the cessation of bankruptcy proceedings, at the end of the liquidity deadline, in the event of merger or when a company is closed in the absence of any succession arrangement.
