In 2000, one KfW study According to the study, 45 percent of Germans still prefer to be self-employed and start a business. Since then, this proportion has been declining steadily. In 2012, it was 30 percent and in 2018, it was 25 percent. In 2019, this proportion at least did not decline further, remaining at 26 percent.
Among students, however, a completely different trend is evident, which raises hopes for Germany as a startup location: In 2017, 35 percent of students wanted to start a business, compared to 33 percent in 2018. Last year, this figure then jumped to 46 percent. This trend is even more pronounced among students of economics and the so-called STEM subjects (mathematics, computer science, natural sciences, and technical subjects). While 36 percent of STEM students wanted to start a business in 2017 and 2018, this figure rose to 53 percent in 2019. The proportion of business students with an entrepreneurial inclination was a whopping 68 percent in 2019, compared to 42 percent and 45 percent in previous years.
Hope that the entrepreneurial spirit will not suffer any further lasting damage due to Corona
Fritzi Köhler-Geib, Chief Economist at KfW, says:
"The growing entrepreneurial spirit among young people is a positive development. Not least due to the intensive public discussions on major issues such as climate protection or social participation, many young people seem to have recognized the opportunities that start-ups and Startups to become active and shape the economy and society.”
Köhler-Geib said she feared that the spirit of entrepreneurship would decline again in 2020 due to the Corona crisis.
“By effectively supporting those affected by the crisis, we can hopefully ensure that the situation remains a setback and that the entrepreneurial spirit does not suffer any further lasting damage.”
