Berlin: The number of bankruptcies in Germany has reached its highest level in 20 years.

According to Qatar News Agency, the Leibniz Institute for Economic Research said in a report issued Thursday that 1,626 bankruptcies of both types of companies were recorded in April, an 11 percent increase compared to the previous month and a 21 percent increase compared to the same month last year.

The institute noted that the number of bankruptcies in April even exceeded the number recorded during the global financial crisis of 2008 and 2009.

The institute attributed this higher-than-expected increase to the unusually high number of small bankruptcies.