Germany retained its title of the best country for start-ups in Europe after topping the annual ranking for the second year in a row. The Federal Republic beat 30 other countries to the top spot.

The best in Europe

Germany has once again been named the best country for start-ups in Europe after topping the annual ranking by the finance and research company, NimbleFins. The company analysed data from the World Bank, World Economic Forum, UNESCO, OECD and tax consultancies to rank 31 countries in 4 different categories.

The countries were given a score from 1 to 31 (lowest figures being better scores) in Economic Health, Cost of Doing Business, Business Climate and Labour Force Quality. Germany performed well across all the categories, scoring 3 in Economic Health, 14 in Cost of Doing Business, 2 in Business Climate and 5 in Labour Force Quality. This gave it an average category rank of 6,0, lower than any other country.

The study cited Germany’s GDP of 3.846 billion dollars to denote its “healthy economy and favourable business climate.” It also mentioned the good access to venture capital in Germany, low level of Government regulation (second behind Switzerland) and relatively low corporation tax (15.825 percent) as incentives for entrepreneurs. Germany’s highly educated workforce (83 percent have an upper secondary degree) was also seen as a benefit.

Start-ups in Berlin

The Berlin Senator for Economy, Energy and Enterprises, Ramona Pop, has stated that a quarter of all the start-ups registered in Germany last year were founded in Berlin. Berlin leads the rest of the country with a whopping 105 start-ups per 10.000 residents. 41 percent of the start-ups in Berlin received subsidies and nearly a quarter used venture capital to enter the market.

Top 10 countries for start-ups in Europe

Below are the top 10 countries for start-ups in Europe, along with their average category score.

1. Germany – 6,0
2. United Kingdom – 7,8
3. Switzerland – 8,3
4. Netherlands – 10,0
5. Ireland – 10,5
6. Denmark – 11,8
7. Finland – 12,0
8. Norway – 12,3
9. Czech Republic – 12,8
10. Sweden – 12,8