Keystone
More companies were founded in Switzerland in 2024 than ever before. According to the Institute for Young Entrepreneurs (IFJ), almost 53,000 new start-ups were registered. This surpasses the record year of 2023 with over 51,500 start-ups.
The 2.6 percent increase underlines the continued growth and attractiveness of Switzerland as a business location, the IFJ announced on Tuesday. The increase in company start-ups reflects the desire of many people for professional self-realization and independence, said Simon May, IFJ Co-Managing Director. Switzerland offers various government and private sector support services for start-ups.
With an increase of 6.3 percent, Southwestern Switzerland was the major region with the strongest growth in start-ups. Espace Mittelland (+3.4%) and Ticino (+3%) also recorded significant growth. There was moderate growth in Central Switzerland (+2%), Zurich (+1.2%) and Eastern Switzerland (+1.1%). A decrease was only recorded in the large region of Northwestern Switzerland (-1%).
Sole proprietorships were the fastest-growing legal form in 2024, with an increase of 3.4% compared to the previous year. The public limited company (+2.4%) and the limited liability company (+1.5%) also grew. The latter remains the most popular legal form with over 20,000 new start-ups.
Most start-ups were in the skilled trades sector with over 5,500 start-ups. This was followed by the consulting (around 5200 start-ups) and real estate (around 4800 start-ups) sectors.