Facts and Figures on Family Businesses

Munich, 3 September, 2025. In 2006, the Foundation for Family Businesses began commissioning studies to determine key figures on the economic significance of family businesses. Since then, these findings have been updated on a regular basis. The most recent results are presented in the 7th edition of the Foundation’s study on the economic importance of family businesses.

The study is based on the "Mannheimer Unternehmenspanel", which contains data on more than 3 million German companies.

A distinction is made between family-controlled and family-owned businesses:

1. Family-controlled businesses: A company is deemed family-controlled if it is under the control of a limited number of natural persons. Ownership and management do not necessarily need to coincide. This is the definition most widely used in both public discourse and academic literature.
2. Family-owned businesses: These companies are controlled by a limited number of natural persons, and at least one of the owners is also actively involved in managing the company.

Depending on the definition applied, the quantitative significance of family businesses within the economy varies:

1. Family-controlled businesses: 88 percent of all German companies fall into this category. They generate 46 percent of total revenues and account for around 58 percent of all jobs subject to social security contributions in Germany.
2. Family-owned businesses: 86 percent of all companies are family-owned. They employ 54 percent of the German workforce and contribute 43 percent of total revenues.

Compared to many other industrialized nations, the German economy is characterized by an exceptionally high number of very large family businesses. Some 32 percent of all companies with annual revenues exceeding 50 million euros are family businesses.

In the construction sector, 96 percent of companies are family-controlled; in retail, the share is 92 percent.

On a regional level, the share of family businesses in the eastern German states is above the national average, with Thuringia leading at 92 percent, while the city-states of Berlin (82 percent), Bremen (81 percent), and Hamburg (78 percent) show lower proportions.