Germans are more concerned about the cost of living and the economic situation

The cost of living and a poor economic situation are making people in Germany more anxious than last year. This emerges from the survey series The Fears of Germans, which has been carried out by R+V Insurance since 1992. According to this, 59 percent of people are “very” afraid of not being able to cover everyday living costs – an increase of seven percentage points compared to 2025.

As part of the survey, 2,400 people were asked about their biggest concerns about politics, the economy, society, the environment and health. They rated their fear of a particular event or development on a seven-point scale. A score of five or more is classified as “high anxiety.” A value of 59 percent for rising living costs means that this proportion of respondents rated their fear of it as at least a five.

Of the five greatest fears according to this index, four items relate to financial issues: In addition to the cost of living, 53 percent of people are afraid of tax increases and benefit cuts (four percentage points more than in 2025), a worse economic situation (51 percent, up ten percentage points) and expensive housing (50 percent, up two percentage points). Only “excessive demands on the state by refugees”, third place with 52 percent (plus three percentage points), does not relate to economic issues among the five most important fears.

Fear of high living costs has traditionally dominated the survey series, which has been in existence for more than 30 years. In a total of 35 surveys, she took first place for the 16th time.