Report on Company Foundations for May 2022: A solid start to the summer of 2022

In May 2022, 4,316 companies were founded in Switzerland. This represents an increase of 2.74% compared to May 2021, and an increase of 12.62% compared to April 2022.

Strong start to summer 2022

With a total of 4,326 companies founded throughout Switzerland, May 2022 is the strongest month of May since STARTUPS.CH began publishing its monthly reports and thus represents a new record. Compared to the previous year and the previous month, the number of start-ups has again increased significantly.

Increase throughout Switzerland

All regions recorded positive results and were able to increase both in comparison with the previous month and with the previous year. In Northwestern Switzerland, only the canton of Solothurn saw a slight decline of 3.85% in the number of new businesses compared with April 2022. With 272 new companies, the canton of Aargau recorded an increase of 25.35% compared to the previous month. The cantons of Berne (+7%), Basel-Landschaft (+20.20%) and Basel-Stadt (+13.10%) also recorded strong increases compared with April 2022.

Contrasting results in Eastern Switzerland

In Eastern Switzerland, there was an increase of 2.83% compared to April 2022, thanks to the extremely positive results of the cantons of Appenzell Innerrhoden (+72.22%) and St. Gallen (+15.66%). The other cantons in this area – Appenzell Innerrhoden (-1%), Glarus (-9.52%), Graubünden (-13.95%), Schaffhausen (-9.09%) and Thurgau (-9.83%) – were in the red.

The cantons of Schwyz and Zug, “saviors of Central Switzerland

In Central Switzerland, the number of start-ups rose by 17.38% compared to the previous year. However, this is primarily due to the top results in the cantons of Schwyz (+40.7%) and Zug (+31.35%). Lucerne stagnated with a minimal growth of 1.56%. On the other hand, the cantons of Obwalden and Nidwalden had to digest sharp declines of more than 25%.

Good results also in French-speaking Switzerland and Ticino

In French-speaking Switzerland and Ticino, the results of the previous month and the previous year were also surpassed. The strong increase of +21.23% in Ticino compared to the previous year is particularly noteworthy. The French-speaking part of Switzerland is also in good shape with a good result of +8.91% compared to the previous year.