In eight countries in the region, the number of bankruptcies is falling. Romania is among the four that go in the opposite direction
After two years of declines, Bulgaria again reported an increase in business bankruptcies in 2025, reaching 830 cases, compared to 719 a year earlier. This represents an increase of almost 16% per year.
Sectors such as trade, tourism and hospitality were the hardest hit, with around 3,200 employees affected by bankruptcies, according to the latest analysis by creditor protection association Creditreform.
Relatively few companies in Bulgaria resort to bankruptcy procedures, as they are usually long and complicated, the organization points out.
In a wider regional context, there was no overall increase in bankruptcies in Central and Eastern Europe in 2025. On the contrary, the number of cases fell by 7.1% to 36,939, compared to 39,746 in 2024, with levels close to those of 2020.
A decrease in bankruptcies was reported in eight of the twelve countries studied, with the decrease ranging from 19.4% in Croatia to 0.6% in Poland.
An increase was registered in only four countries – in addition to Bulgaria, also in Romania, Slovenia and the Czech Republic, the strongest increase being reported in Bulgaria (15.9%) and the Czech Republic (11.5%).
The analysis shows that the most affected sectors in Central and Eastern Europe are trade and services. Trade accounts for 33.7% of bankruptcies, albeit down from 35.5% in 2024, while the share of services increases from 31.4% to 32.7%. About one in five bankruptcies is in the construction sector, with significant regional differences.
Western Europe recorded in 2025 the highest number of corporate bankruptcies in the last more than two decades. The analysis shows the number reached 197,610, a 4.8% increase from 188,623 a year earlier.
“The crisis is not only cyclical, but also structural. Weak global trade and geopolitical risks are weighing on European companies. At the same time, high energy prices and red tape are limiting competitiveness,” commented Creditreform's Patrick-Ludwig Hantzsch.
According to Gerhard Weinhofer of Creditreform Austria, the level of bankruptcies in Western Europe has already exceeded the level after the financial crisis of 2008-2009, and after a strong increase in 2023 and 2024, the dynamics are starting to slow down, but the trend for 2026 remains uncertain, with the possibility of a further increase.
The strongest increase in bankruptcies in Western Europe was recorded in Switzerland (35.3%), followed by Greece (24.4%), Finland (12.1%) and Germany (8.8%). In Austria, growth was 4.3%, while countries such as the Netherlands, Ireland and Norway saw a decline.
By sector, in Western Europe, the strongest growth was recorded in services (8.7%), followed by manufacturing (3.6%) and trade, including hotels and restaurants (3%). In construction, the number of bankruptcies remained almost unchanged.
In the United States, the number of corporate bankruptcies reached a five-year high in 2025 – 31,810 cases, which represents an increase of 5.3% compared to the previous year. Analysts point to high interest rates and tighter credit conditions as the main factors preventing troubled companies from recovering. (Material produced with the support of Rador Radio Romania)
