A new survey from the University of Leipzig measures a quiet erosion that has been gathering for years: only about a third of Germans now say they are satisfied with how their democracy works, the lowest reading since the study began in 2002. The belief in democracy as a principle remains broadly intact, but the confidence in its daily performance is thinning, and nowhere more than in the eastern states. Set against a crowded day of budget bargaining, crime statistics and a grievous case in Brandenburg's borderlands, the figures ask a patient question of the country: whether the distance betwe
Only a Third of Germans Satisfied With Democracy as Record-Low Study Results Emerge
A 13-year-old girl who went missing from Berlin was found dead in an abandoned building in Altglietzen, near the Polish border, and the suspect died in hospital.
Support for democracy in principle fell below 90% for the first time
Mark
Satisfaction with democracy is down to a third. How big is the drop?
Mimi
From 42.3% in 2024 to about a third now, the lowest since the study began in 2002. In the former East German states it's 22.8%, down from 29.7%.
Mark
But people still say they like democracy?
Mimi
Mostly. 89.3% agree with the concept, though that's the first time it's dipped below 90%.
Luke
Worth being careful there. Dissatisfaction is measured against how people feel about performance, not a verdict on the system. The source doesn't say why satisfaction fell.
Mark
What about the chauvinistic and antisemitic findings?
Mimi
34.9% manifestly agreed Germany is being dangerously overrun by foreigners, 24.4% latently. On Jewish influence, 15.5% manifest and 21.7% latent.
Luke
Those are the study's own categories of manifest and latent agreement. The report as summarized doesn't tell us how they're defined, so I'd not add them together casually.
Mark
How solid is the sample?
Mimi
2,500 people, surveyed from mid-March to early June this year.
Luke
That's a spring snapshot. Whether it persists is unknown, and nothing here links it to any specific policy or event.
Il Polso
- Satisfaction with German democracy has sunk to roughly one third, a steep fall from 42.3% in 2024 and the lowest the Leipzig study has ever recorded.
- In the former East German states only 22.8% say they are satisfied, leaving a widening rift between east and west that political leaders can no longer treat as marginal.
- Support for democracy in principle has slipped below 90% for the first time, and large shares of respondents voice chauvinistic and antisemitic views.
- The coalition is racing to finish the 2027 budget, dropping some social cuts and delaying a sugary drinks tax, while a planned electricity tax cut looks increasingly out of reach after a €5.4 billion hole appeared.
- The Bundestag committee makes final changes Thursday and a full vote follows at month's end, so the coming weeks will show whether public disillusion deepens or begins to ease.
A new survey from the University of Leipzig measures a quiet erosion that has been gathering for years: only about a third of Germans now say they are satisfied with how their democracy works, the lowest reading since the study began in 2002. The belief in democracy as a principle remains broadly intact, but the confidence in its daily performance is thinning, and nowhere more than in the eastern states. Set against a crowded day of budget bargaining, crime statistics and a grievous case in Brandenburg's borderlands, the figures ask a patient question of the country: whether the distance between ideal and experience can be closed before it hardens into something more lasting.
A new survey from the University of Leipzig puts a number on something that has been building for years. Only about a third of Germans now say they are satisfied with how democracy works in their country, the lowest figure the Leipzig Authoritarianism Study has recorded since 2002. Two years ago, satisfaction stood at 42.3%.
The divide between east and west is sharp. In the former East German states, just 22.8% are satisfied, down from 29.7% previously. The study, carried out by the Else-Frenkel-Brunswik-Institut and based on 2,500 interviews from spring, shows a more troubling pattern underneath. Support for democracy as an idea has slipped below 90% for the first time, and many respondents endorsed chauvinistic and antisemitic statements. The gap between dissatisfaction with how the system performs and continued belief in its principles is the story's central tension.
The same day brought a crowded news cycle. The CDU/CSU and SPD coalition was working through the 2027 federal budget, dropping some social cuts and delaying a sugary drinks tax, while a promised electricity tax cut grew less likely after a €5.4 billion shortfall surfaced. The budget committee meets Thursday, with a full vote at the end of November.
There was also grim news from Altglietzen, near the Polish border, where police found a 13-year-old girl who had gone missing from Berlin on her way to school. She was dead. A 22-year-old man under investigation since January 2025 died in hospital. The day's events, from survey numbers to a family's loss, leave the country asking whether its democratic confidence can be rebuilt.
A new survey from the University of Leipzig puts a number on something that has been building for years: only about a third of Germans say they are satisfied with how democracy works in their country. The figure comes from the Leipzig Authoritarianism Study, and it is the lowest the project has recorded since it began in 2002. In 2024, the last time the study was run, satisfaction stood at 42.3%.
The gap between east and west is stark. In the former East German states, just 22.8% of respondents said they were satisfied, down from 29.7% in the previous round. The study was carried out by the Else-Frenkel-Brunswik-Institut at the University of Leipzig, which surveyed 2,500 people between mid-March and the beginning of June this year.
Support for democracy as an idea held up better, though it too slipped. Some 89.3% of respondents said they agreed with the concept, and for the first time the figure fell below 90%. The distinction matters: people are growing more dissatisfied with how the system performs, while most still endorse the principle.
The survey also found considerable chauvinistic and antisemitic attitudes. Asked about the statement that Germany is being dangerously overrun by foreigners, 34.9% manifestly agreed and another 24.4% agreed latently. On the statement that the influence of Jews in Germany is still too great, 15.5% manifestly agreed and 21.7% latently agreed.
The results landed on a busy news day in Germany, Wednesday, November 11, when the Rhineland also opened its carnival season. The coalition of the CDU/CSU and the Social Democrats was working through the 2027 federal budget. It agreed to drop some planned cuts to social benefits, including a supplement for children in low-income families, and to delay a sugary drinks tax by six months to January 2028. A plastic packaging tax will not be introduced in 2027. A cut in electricity tax for all consumers, backed by Chancellor Friedrich Merz, looks increasingly unlikely to take effect at the start of 2027, because roughly €5.4 billion has not yet been found. The Bundestag's budget committee makes final changes on Thursday, with a full parliamentary vote due at the end of November.
Other items from the day: Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office said crimes directed from abroad rose nearly 24% in the first half of the year, with fewer than 5% solved, according to its president, Holger Münch. The Defense Ministry banned Chinese-made drones in the Bundeswehr, citing security-relevant information. A ministry survey found that 38% of female soldiers had experienced sexualized verbal harassment in the past year, against 16% of male soldiers. And October inflation fell to 2.8% from 3.3% in September, helped by a fuel rebate.
There was also grim news from Altglietzen, near the Polish border. A 22-year-old man died in hospital after police found him in an abandoned building with the body of a 13-year-old girl who had gone missing in Berlin. She left home at 7:15 a.m. last Tuesday to go to school and never arrived. Berlin prosecutors said the man had been under investigation since January 2025 on suspicion of possessing child sexual abuse material.
The democracy study is a snapshot from spring, based on 2,500 respondents. What bears watching is whether the decline in satisfaction persists as the government takes up budget and retirement-age debates in the months ahead.
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