If judged by the number of newly founded companies per person of working age, foreigners in Germany are three times more enterprising than locals. But migrants also go bankrupt more often. At the same time, the number of companies founded by immigrants continues to grow. For example, in 2009, foreigners in Germany founded 130,000 new companies, a good quarter more than in 2005.
Commenting on the results of the study, Economics Minister Philipp Rösler said in an interview with the Suddeutsche Zeitung newspaper: "The founding of new companies is the elixir of life for the German economy, and it is a good sign that more and more foreigners decide to start their own business."
However, if we look at absolute statistics, the share of private entrepreneurs among residents of Germany without a German passport is still lower than among German citizens: 9.7% versus 10.9%.
The Evers & Jung study also mentions late repatriates. According to 2006 data, only 3% of late repatriates founded their own business. In fairness, it should be noted that Turks and Italians, when they came to Germany, did not immediately rush to start their own business. For example, in 1973 only 2.6% of guest workers in Germany were private entrepreneurs, and until the end of the 1980s their share did not exceed 5%.
It is also interesting that for a long time the largest group of private entrepreneurs among immigrants were Italians, and only in 2003 did Turks manage to overtake them, because between 1999 and 2003 the number of private entrepreneurs of Turkish origin doubled.
Currently, Poles are the most active in founding private companies. In terms of the number of newly founded companies per person of working age, immigrants from Poland surpass locals by 15 times! Most often, Poles create construction companies in Germany, and in most cases the founder of the company is also its only employee.