In 2024, German startups had 16.7 employees on average, which was a decrease compared to the previous year. The lowest figure was in 2017, in which German startups had just under 11 employees. This survey shows the average number of employees working for a start-up in Germany from 2014 to 2024.
Average number of employees in startups in Germany from 2014 to 2024
1,828 data sets from founders, managers, and C-Level employees
Supplementary notes
The data comes from the German Startup Monitor (DSM), for which high quality data sets are collected annually from founders and managing directors of start-ups. The founders or managing directors (members of the executive board, e.g. chief level) of start-ups received a special questionnaire link by email which was sent via selected DSM network partners. In 2024, the survey collected 1,828 complete data sets between June 6 and August 12, 2023.
Values until 2023 were based on earlier information from the source.
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Bundesverband Deutsche Startups. (September 29, 2024). Average number of employees in startups in Germany from 2014 to 2024 [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved March 13, 2025, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1331809/start-up-employees-average-number-germany/
Bundesverband Deutsche Startups. "Average number of employees in startups in Germany from 2014 to 2024." Chart. September 29, 2024. Statista. Accessed March 13, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1331809/start-up-employees-average-number-germany/
Bundesverband Deutsche Startups. (2024). Average number of employees in startups in Germany from 2014 to 2024. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: March 13, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1331809/start-up-employees-average-number-germany/
Bundesverband Deutsche Startups. "Average Number of Employees in Startups in Germany from 2014 to 2024." Statista, Statista Inc., 29 Sep 2024, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1331809/start-up-employees-average-number-germany/
Bundesverband Deutsche Startups, Average number of employees in startups in Germany from 2014 to 2024 Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1331809/start-up-employees-average-number-germany/ (last visited March 13, 2025)
Average number of employees in startups in Germany from 2014 to 2024 [Graph], Bundesverband Deutsche Startups, September 29, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1331809/start-up-employees-average-number-germany/
