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Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Despite the crises, Germany's more than 3.4 million small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) still play a significant role in the economy: they generate 28% of total turnover in Germany and employ more than half of all salaried workers in the country.
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. But although the absolute turnover of SMEs increased, their share of overall turnover declined, as large enterprises were able to expand their revenues even more significantly. According to the European Commission’s definition of SMEs, more than 3.4 million enterprises in Germany belong to the category of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – this are more than 99% of all private-sector businesses.
Over the half of all employees in Germany (19 million of about 36 million) work in micro, small or medium-sized enterprises. The training of skilled workers also takes place predominantly in companies of this size (69.4%). But the proportion of trainees in micro and small businesses has been falling for years, while the number of trainees in larger companies is steadily increasing.
Only independent SMEs are considered part of the Mittelstand
In the public perception, the Mittelstand is often equated with small and medium-sized enterprises. According to the definition of IfM Bonn, it only includes companies where ownership and management are unified, regardless of size. Therefore, enterprises with more than 250 employees are also considered part of the Mittelstand if at least two natural persons or their family members hold a minimum of 50% of the company’s shares and are actively involved in management. By contrast, SMEs that are part of a corporate group are not classified as part of the Mittelstand.
As the qualitative characteristics of the Mittelstand (type of management, ownership structure, and economic independence) are not captured in official statistics, IfM Bonn calculates the economic significance of the Mittelstand each year on the basis of the European Commission’s SME definition. In addition, the researchers periodically estimate the total number of family businesses. According to these estimates, in 2019 around 90% of all companies in Germany were family-owned and family-managed. At that time, family businesses generated more than one third of total turnover and employed over half of all employees in regular employment.
The key figures on the economic significance of small and medium-sized enterprises in Germany, as well as the study "The Economic Significance of Family and Women-Owned Businesses", are available on the website of the Institut for Mittelstandsforschung (www.ifm-bonn.org)
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