BfV's Alarming Annual Report: A Surge in Extremism Across the Spectrum
Enhanced Focus on Radical Elements by the Constitution Guard
Berlin (dpa) - The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) has reported a dramatic increase in extremists it's keeping tabs on as compared to previous years. This revelation comes from the 2024 annual report, presented in Berlin by Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) and the Vice-President of the domestic intelligence agency, Sinan Selen.
In a concerning development, the number of right-wing extremists has seen an approx 23% increase, reaching 50,250 last year. This spike can be at least partially attributed to the rise in AfD members, with the BfV assigning approximately 20,000 of the party's estimated 50,000 members to the right-wing extremist potential. The report asserts that the AfD serves as the "main actor" within the right-wing extremist or suspected party spectrum due to its political and societal impacts, as well as its membership numbers.
The report also notes a distressing increase in the number of extremists assessed as violence-oriented, with the right-wing extremist count reaching 15,300, a rise of 800 people compared to the previous year.
Added Threat: Reichsbürger Movement and Self-Administrators
The report also identifies an alarming growth in the "Reichsbürger" and self-administrators, with the potential increase by 1,000 people to roughly 26,000. These individuals do not recognize the Federal Republic of Germany as a state and reject democratic and rule-of-law structures like parliament, laws, or courts. They refuse to pay taxes, social contributions, or fines.
Trend Reversal among Islamists
Following a slight decrease in earlier years, the 2024 report indicates a slight uptick in Islamist groups. The Islamist potential has expanded by almost four percent, reaching 28,280 individuals. The report also presents for the first time an estimate for the number of violence-oriented Islamist potential, which is reported to be 9,540 people.
Similar Rise in Left-Wing Extremism
While the number of left-wing extremists rose from 37,000 to approximately 38,000 in 2024, the potential of violence-oriented left-wing extremists remained at the previous year's level of 11,200 extremists.
A factor contributing to the increase in extremist tendencies across various areas last year, as per the BfV's assessment, was the escalation in the Middle East conflict.
While the enrichment data doesn't provide specifics about the 2024 BfV annual report, recent developments signal growing concerns about extremism within Germany, particularly with respect to the AfD, which has been classified as a "verified right-wing extremist organization" by the BfV in May 2025 due to beliefs incompatible with the German constitution[3][5]. The country has witnessed a 40% rise in politically-driven crimes in 2025, with far-right ideology playing a significant role, along with over 1,270 acts of right-wing extremist violence and an increase in racist offenses[2]. The debate over free speech and censorship has also heated up in the wake of the BfV's classification of the AfD[5].
- The rising AfD membership numbers, with the BfV assigning approximately 20,000 of the party's estimated 50,000 members to the right-wing extremist potential, is a significant element in the surge of right-wing extremism noted in the annual report of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV).
- The BfV's annual report also unveils a concerning trend in crime and justice, with the number of violence-oriented extremists increasing by approximately 800 people, a rise that includes both right-wing and Islamist extremists.
- The 2024 annual report presents policy-and-legislation concerns, as it indicates a slight uptick in Islamist groups and identifies an alarming growth in the "Reichsbürger" and self-administrators, individuals who reject democratic and rule-of-law structures, contributing to the general-news discourse on the challenges posed by war-and-conflicts, crime-and-justice, and politics in Germany.
