One in twenty German corporations is managed from abroad

In 49,778 German corporations, at least one managing director or management board member lives abroad; that is one in twenty. 68.6% of these companies are managed exclusively from abroad. This is shown by an analysis by HDH Group Research of 989,627 active corporations.

Most are managed from neighbouring countries: 6,466 from Switzerland, 6,156 from the Netherlands, 5,802 from Austria. China follows with 3,612 companies, of which 60.4% are active in trade and 83.9% have no member of management in Germany.

Turkey grows, Russia disappears

Since the Russian attack on Ukraine, the balance has shifted. Only 11 companies with management in Russia have been incorporated since February 2022; in 2016 alone there were 41. Of the companies managed from Turkey, by contrast, 48.8% were formed since February 2022, more than for any other country. Their incorporations rose from 80 in 2016 to 339 in 2023, in the years of high inflation in Turkey.

Incorporations with management in China peaked in 2023 at 395 and fell to 223 by 2025. Most companies managed from China are based in Düsseldorf and Frankfurt am Main.

As resilient as the rest of the population

Companies managed exclusively from abroad become insolvent as often as the rest of the database: in the twelve months to June 2026 the rate was 7.9 ‰, compared with 7.9 ‰. Companies with mixed domestic and foreign management reach 3.5 ‰. Saarland has the highest share of companies managed from abroad, at 8.7%.

Method

The analysis covers active corporations as of 23 October 2026. Management abroad means that the registered place of residence of a managing director or management board member lies outside Germany. Incorporations are counted for companies still registered today.

The report

This item is based on the report “Managed from abroad” by HDH Group Research. It contains all figures and tables, the definition of the population and a section on method and limitations: Managed from abroad, also as PDF.