Young Germans have a positive outlook
The 2024 Shell Youth Study draws a differentiated view of Germany's young generation: the majority is pragmatic, open-minded and optimistic.
Young people in Germany continue to be mostly optimistic, even in turbulent times. This showed the 2024 Shell Youth Study. This study has been conducted among 12 to 25-year-olds in Germany on a regular basis since 1953, to find out about their attitude towards life, most recently in 2019. Satisfaction with Germany's political system is stable: 75 percent of the around 2,500 young people surveyed trust the state and are rather or even very satisfied with our democracy.
Achieving life goals
The optimistic attitude regarding their personal future is particularly noteworthy. About three quarters of the young people surveyed are convinced that Germany offers them all the opportunities they need for realising their life goals. They believe firmly that they will get the job they want and trust that the welfare state will take care of them. Most young people have a pragmatic attitude when it comes to the various challenges of life: they use common performance standards as guidance, adjust to the existing circumstances in their search for a place in society, and would like to seize personal opportunities. Job security is a top priority: 91 percent of those surveyed find a secure job "very important". Flexible employment models and a healthy work-life balance are gaining importance: more than 40 percent of young people would like to be able to work part-time later on, when they are parents.
Open-mindedness is key
Another positive result is the young generation's high degree of social tolerance. More than 90 percent of young people in Germany accept different ways of life and different social groups. The vast majority of young people show open-mindedness and respect with regard to a culturally diverse society, with this attitude being slightly more pronounced in girls than in boys.
Growing interest in politics
The interest that young people show in politics has increased considerably in recent years. 55 percent currently say that they are interested in politics. Far lower figures were recorded in the 1990s and 2000s, with a value of just 34 percent recorded in 2002. While girls tended to show less interest in politics in previous surveys than boys, this was the first time that no noticeable difference was observed. Willingness to get politically involved has also increased from 22 percent in 2002 to 37 percent in 2024. This means that young people in Germany are showing a growing interest in political issues and would like to participate in social debates.
Young people are afraid of...
- 81 % : War in Europe
- 67 % : Poverty
- 64 % : Pollution
- 64 % : Increasing hostility among people
Continued presence of fears and worries
Many young people are concerned about the various global crises, despite the widespread optimism. Fear of war in Europe (81 percent) and concerns about the economic situation and an increase in poverty (67) are at the top of the list of 14 fears the survey participants were asked about. At the same time, only 35 percent of young people in Germany are worried about unemployment or being unable to find a training place. This is a historical low. Many young people are still worried about the issues of climate change (63 percent) and pollution (64 percent), however, less so than was the case in 2019. Fear of an increase in hostility between people (64 percent) is about as common among young people as fear of xenophobia (58 percent), which is mentioned far more often than fear of immigration (34 percent).