(Deutsche Welle Chinese website) The German people's enthusiasm for political participation has reached the highest level in many years. This is also reflected in the high turnout in recent state legislative elections. Immigration, upcoming pension reform, health and care, democracy and the rule of law are among the issues discussed lively.
But what worries them most is undoubtedly that the cost of living in Germany will continue to rise.
This is exactly the result of the "Germans' Fears" study, released for the 35th time by the insurance company R+V in Berlin on Thursday (October 1). The annual study has been conducted every year since Germany was reunified in the early 1990s.
For this year's study, data were collected between the beginning of May and the end of July, and interviews were conducted with a representative sample of approximately 2,400 German speakers aged 14 and over. The top concern remains the fear of rising costs of living, which has topped the survey's results for many years, according to the survey.
People’s Biggest Worry: Rising Cost of Living
Last year, 52% of people listed the increase in daily living expenses as their biggest concern; by 2026, this proportion has risen to 59%. Grischa Brower-Rabinowitsch, who participated in the study, said in Berlin, "People feel the high cost of daily life every day. Overall, 59% of people worry that they will never have enough money to survive."
Isabelle Borucki, a political scientist at the University of Marburg who participated in the survey as a consultant, added, "Key prices such as energy, housing and food have increased significantly, which has led to a shrinking of disposable wealth for leisure, vacation and consumption. People can afford less and less things."
No. 2 concern: Higher taxes and benefit cuts
Research shows that it is very clear that Germany's social security system is in serious crisis. The national pension fund and nursing care insurance are running chronic deficits. Most people are also aware that taxes and fees will rise, so concerns about higher taxes are stronger this year than in previous years. Borucchi said, "Underlying the concerns about higher taxes and welfare cuts are everyone's doubts about fairness: Who will bear the costs of modernization? Can I still rely on the social benefits that the country once promised?"
How do topics such as immigration, social polarization, and global unrest, which dominate the German-language media, appear in this study?
The results showed that nearly 52% of the respondents were worried that the number of refugees would overwhelm the country, ranking third.
Concerns about Trump are falling
Brown-Rabinovich told reporters that 45% of respondents are worried that U.S. President Trump’s policies will make the world more dangerous, which is significantly lower than the proportion during his first term. In the same survey conducted in 2018 during Trump's first term, 69% of Germans expressed great concern. Here, Borucki offers a simple explanation: “After years of sustained geopolitical alarm, people have become accustomed to this state of affairs.”
Overall, fear averaged 38 percent this year, the second-lowest average since the study began in 1991. By comparison, in 2016, the year after a large influx of refugees into Germany, the average fear was about 52%.
Very low rating for politics
When looking to the future, Germans are significantly less fearful than expected. This year only 34% are worried about Germany being involved in a war, compared with 41% last year.
Since 1992, the study has retained this question: Are you afraid of losing your job? Currently, only 20% of current employees answer “yes.” This is the lowest reading since the survey began.
What respondents said about politics, however, was surprising. Whether it was the ruling camp or the opposition party, the respondents could rate politicians like students, and they got a score of 4.1, which is barely passing.
Political scientist Borucki believes that the coalition government led by current Prime Minister Mertz should bear the main responsibility for this. The current government replaced the "traffic light government" composed of the Social Democratic Party, the Green Party and the Liberal Democrats in May 2025. Borucki said, "After the end of the traffic light government, many people pinned their hopes on the 'Black and Red Alliance', expecting it to show more leadership, reduce public bickering, and quickly promote economic improvement. But these expectations have not been realized. A gap has emerged between the sonorous promises and the results people feel. People are disappointed and are losing trust in the political world."
