Discouraged, hesitant, highly cautious and extremely focused on security, with a good dose of fear for the future — that is perhaps how many people would characterize “German angst.”
It is fitting then that numerous studies into fears are conducted only in Germany — such as the study “Germans’ greatest fears 2025” from insurance company R+V Versicherung, which has scrutinized the worries of the German population since 1992.
The remarkable result of the latest survey: Germans are becoming less fearful, despite worldwide crises and a tense economic situation.
Political scientist at Marburg University Isabelle Borucki led the study as a consultant.
“It could be a sigh of relief after many years of crisis,” she told DW. “People are currently also focusing less on future fears, rather more on the here and now. Fears related to the economic situation or the cost of living remain high, but people do not feel as affected as before.”
Germans continue to worry that due to higher prices for groceries, fuel and power, they no longer have enough money to make ends meet at the end of the month.
Like last year, and for the 15th time in the survey’s history, the fear of rising living costs tops the rankings; inflation remains the ultimate German bogeyman.
Finances overall are causing many to have sleepless nights. Of the Germans’ four biggest fears, another two are also about money: fear of tax increases, welfare cuts and unaffordable housing.
“The housing topic is especially controversial because there is little sign of relief with living costs — especially rent, but also accompanying costs such as heating and electricity,” Borucki said.
Affordable housing could become the number one social political issue in future election campaigns.
“It is vital that people see progress in building social housing, speeding up approval processes and the possibility of more affordable home ownership,” she added.
Many Germans continue to fear immigration
The fear of Germany being overwhelmed by an influx of refugees came second on the list — a fear that is especially pronounced in eastern Germany.
The number of asylum applications in the first half of 2025 was 73,000, a reduction of about 50% compared with the previous year.
This is also because Germany’s former coalition government (of the center-left Social Democrats, environmentalist Greens and neoliberal Free Democrats) tightened asylum laws and the new government of the conservative Union (of the Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union) plus the Social Democrats has tightened border controls.
Political scientist Borucki says that the fear only superficially relates to the actual immigration policy.
“It is about social identity, about the question of cultural coexistence and what it means to belong. The issue of refugees has been superimposed on this. Of course, concern surrounding immigration is easily instrumentalized politically by right-wing populist or right-wing extremist narratives,” she said.
Fear, Borucki explained, is a fundamental, existential feeling: “In this respect we are operating based on emotions rather than facts.”
Great dissatisfaction with politicians remains in Germany
There is only one thing Germans fear more this year than last: that authoritarian leaders worldwide are becoming ever more powerful.
That is surely a result of US President Donald Trump taking office for a second term; on the ranking list the fears of authoritarian leadership worldwide and Trump policies making the world more dangerous are in places five and six.
Speaking of politicians: if the fear study was a school report, government and opposition lawmakers would have only just scraped by with a pass — a very slight improvement on last year’s result.
“It is no reason to celebrate because more than half the population continues to give politicians only the minimum required to pass. That is testament to a continuing deep dissatisfaction. Politicians are receiving a report card with a serious warning,” Borucki said.
That applies especially to the current government: “The trust that the government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz leads the population well and professionally through crises isn’t there now. So, it is important to build trust.”
Climate change fear eased despite natural disasters
Fears about natural disasters and climate change rank in 15th and 16th place respectively, despite a rising number of natural disasters worldwide.
Climate protection played only a minor role in Germany’s latest federal election campaign and is not a priority for the new government.
Borucki says that environmental issues have been pushed off the political agenda in Germany and lost their power to mobilize, also because the Greens are no longer in the government.
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However, that could be changed very quickly by incidents such as the Ahr Valley floods of 2021. Only the respondents aged 14 to 19 had climate change in their top three fears.
That is why it is even more surprising that the much-lamented division and polarization in society does not instill as much fear in Germans — rather the opposite. Its value sank by 9 percentage points compared with the previous year, more than any other fear.
Division has become normalized, explained Borucki: “People have become used to a state of crisis and a conflict-laden public sphere. A certain amount of division fatigue has also occurred, so people accept and expect division as a permanent condition.”
This article has been translated from German.
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