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2025 Bundestag elections

Facts, figures and background information on current developments.

Friedrich Merz, CDU, wird die nächste Bundesregierung anführen. Federal elections Election result CDU/CSU wins the Bundestag elections
Friedrich Merz Federal elections The new Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz: conservative transatlanticist
Emmanuel Macron und Keir Starmer (Archiv) Federal elections
Reactions
Congratulations for Merz from numerous countries
Macron and Starmer highlight sound cooperation for a strong Europe.
Election Bundestag elections
Civic participation
Ballot papers checked three times
Elections in Germany: who counts the ballot papers? An election worker tells us about her work.
Bundestagswahl Bundestag elections
Facts about the Bundestag election
The 2025 German federal election – key questions and answers surrounding the election of the country’s new parliament.

These parties will be in the new Bundestag.  Discover all the key facts here:

SPD
SPD: the oldest party
The SPD finds its origins in Germany’s oldest political parties. The Social Democrats still has close ties to unions and workers to this day.
CDU
CDU/CSU: the sister parties
The sister parties CDU and CSU, known as the “Union” for short, form the traditionally strongest party in Germany.
Die Grünen
The Greens: the environmental party
Protection of the environment was the motivation for establishing the Greens in the early 1980s.
Die Linke
Die Linke: the legacy of the GDR
Die Linke is the democratic successor to the former Socialist Unity Party in the GDR, the SED. The BSW was founded as a breakaway group from Die Linke in 2024.
AfD
AfD: pretty far right
The populist right-wing party AfD rejects the European Union. It is also opposed to immigration and measures to combat climate change.
Bundestag Democracy in Germany
Politics
New elections to be held in Germany
New elections to be held in Germany. What triggered the end of the governing coalition and what happens next?
Das deutsche Parlament: der Reichstag in Berlin Democracy in Germany
Rules for crises
The vote of confidence – what is it?
Stability even when a coalition is in crisis: German democracy sets down clear procedures regarding the dealings between the government and the Bundestag.
Germany Bundestag elections
What happens after the election
Find out here what happens after the federal election: How is the government formed and which time limits are specified by law?
Wahlkampf in Deutschland Bundestag elections Election manifestos The election campaign in Germany: what do the parties want?
Von hier aus wird Deutschland regiert: das Kanzleramt in Berlin. 2025 Bundestag elections Parties The frontrunners for the Bundestag elections

How German democracy functions at the federal level:

Briefwähler können auch in bestimmten Wahllokalen vorab wählen. Bundestag election Basic Law The five principles which govern elections in Germany
U18-Wahl in Deutschland (Archivbild) Bundestag elections Young people Votes for young people – more than just a paper exercise
Bundestagswahl 2017: Jeder Wähler hat zwei Stimmen
This is the way the federal elections work
We explain why every citizen has two votes. Facts about the electoral system.
Election Bundestag elections
Civic participation
Ballot papers checked three times
Elections in Germany: who counts the ballot papers? An election worker tells us about her work.
Briefwahl
How Germany votes
Election to the Bundestag (Federal parliament) – here we answer questions such as what rules apply, who can vote and what a ballot paper looks like.

Quick facts

630 seats in the Bundestag Parliament currently consists of 735 MPs. In the future, the Bundestag will have a maximum of 630 MPs.
299 constituencies Constituencies are so divided that there are about the same number of voters in each.
5 per cent Only parties that have received at least five per cent of the second votes may enter the Bundestag.
59,2 million German citizens are eligible to vote.
18 years of age is the minimum required age to vote and to run for office.
82.5 was the percentage of voter turnout in the 2025 Bundestag elections.

Want to understand German politics? Then you should familiarise yourself with the following topics:

Meinungsforscher Manfred Güllner vom Forsa-Institut Bundestag elections Opinion polling Polls: a glimpse of the future?
Deutsche Bundesregierung The German State

Germany has a federal system. Get to know the 16 federal states here: