German election results in graphics – DW – 24.02.2025 explained

With a record -breaking turnout of 83.5%, the highest since the union in 1990, the Germans released their surveys on February 23 in an early federal election. The Greens and the Neoliberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) collapsed at the end of 2024.

Votes for parties in the German parliamentary elections

Based on projections, the conservative Christic Democratic Union (CDU) under the direction of Chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz and her sister Christian Social Union (CSU) won the most votes, followed by the right populist alternative for Germany (AfD).

Profits and losses for German parties

The big winner of the election in relation to the voters was the right -wing extremist AfD, while the SPD, led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, recorded the greatest loss of votes compared to previous elections.

How are the seats in Germany's parliament distributed?

There are 630 seats in the Bundestag, Germany's parliament. The number of seats that a party has is determined by their vote. One party must receive at least 5% of the votes to enter the parliament. However, parties are granted an exception that field candidates in at least three electoral districts: gaining three individual mandates increases the 5% threshold for the respective party.

Possible coalition options

While the CDU/CSU won the largest proportion of voices, they have no absolute majority. The party will win 208 seats in the Bundestag. You have to enter a coalition with another party to secure 316 seats in the Bundestag, the minimum for a majority and the next government. The CDU has excluded a coalition with the AfD and insist that it is the “firewall” for the right -wing extremist. This remains a two-way grand coalition with the SPD or three-way coalition, including the Greens as the most likely options, depending on the final distribution of seats. The coalition calculator shows possible coalition results.

Vocal migration

The election on Sunday prompted voters to change the affiliations and to switch via the party spectrum. One of the most important migrations was gone from the center-left SPD to the conservative CDU/CSU, which received about 2 million votes from the Social Democrats. The left -wing party benefited both from the SPD and the Greens from voter hike and added 540,000 or 600,000 votes.

Election results according to age

Young people between the ages of 18 and 24 leaned against the extremes and gave their ballot papers more often for the right -wing extremist AfD and the left party. The more traditional parties from the SPD and CDU received the lowest voters from the younger voters. The Greens, a favorite for the youth vote for a long time, had one of their lowest percentage of votes in this age group. The voters over the age of 60 were more likely to vote on the SPD and CDU.

How did men and women give their ballot papers in the election?

Men tilted more conservative than women and gave their ballot papers more often for the CDU and the AfD, while women tended to vote more for the SPD, the Greens and the left party. With the exception of the AfD, the difference in votes after gender was only a few percentage points.

Election results according to the level of education

Voters without college training were more conservative, with the CDU and AfD being their preferred parties, followed by the SPD. People with primary school formation were twice as often AfD as those with university formation. German voters with a higher degree voted more than twice as likely for the Greens and the left party compared to those with primary school formation.

Published by: Michaela Cavanagh