Young Voters Dropped Below Par in the 2025 Bundestag Election
Reduced Voting Participation by Youth in Federal Election Falls Short of Averages - Young adult voter turnout lagged behind expectations during federal elections
Let's talk elections! The 2025 Bundestag vote on February 23 saw overall participation of 82.5%, but it's the breakdown by age that's raising eyebrows. The youth, folks under 44, bucked the trend and slipped below the average, with a drop of up to 8.3 percentage points compared to the 2021 election.
Now, aged 44 and above, the story is different. Participation was strong across the board, peaking at 85.5% among those aged 50 to 69. The golden oldies, the 70-plus crowd, showed a declining trend that's lingered since the 2017 federal election, with a turnout of 79.3%.
No party ruled the roost in terms of second votes across all age groups. The Left party dominated among youth, bagging 27.3% of the votes, while the AfD took the cake among the 25-34 (20.8%) and 35-44 (27.1%) age groups.
In other groups, the Union parties CDU and CSU reigned supreme in second votes. The 45-59 age group gave them 28.7%, 60-69 showed them love with 31.6%, and the oldest voters, 70 and above, gave them a whopping 41.4%.
The SPD got their biggest support from the oldest voters (24.9%), while the Greens performed their best in the 25-34 age group (15.9%).
Our data crunching covers 2,505 polling and mail-in voting districts, representing roughly 1.9 million eligible voters – giving us an accurate picture of the 2025 federal election!
- Youth voter participation
- Lower voting age
- Bundestag election
- Age group
- Federal Statistical Office
The historical voting pattern among age groups in German federal elections reveals a high overall turnout, but youth voters show significant variation.
- Over years, overall voter turnout in federal elections has been relatively steady. For instance, the 2025 election saw a turnout of 82.5% [1].
- However, a closer look at the data reveals a worrying trend – lower participation among young voters compared to older age groups. In the 2025 elections, participation dropped compared to the 2021 elections, with varying postal voting rates across regions [5].
- Interestingly, there have been discussions about lowering the voting age to 16 in Germany. Some federal states (Länder) have already implemented this for state and municipal elections, as part of efforts to engage younger voters more actively in the democratic process [5].
- Historically, Germany has showed high overall voter turnout in federal elections, though youth participation has generally trailed that of older populations [1]. It's worth noting that some regions see stronger youth participation in certain elections.
In conclusion, Germany's Bundestag elections typically enjoy high overall turnout, but youth participation lags behind, and there's a trend of fewer young voters casting their ballots. Efforts are underway to encourage greater youth participation, including lowering the voting age in certain states [1][5].
- Community policies, particularly those targeting youth engagement and participation, may be crucial in addressing the trend of lower voter turnout among younger demographics in Germany's federal elections.
- Employment policies and initiatives aimed at fostering civic engagement and education about the political process could potentially help increase participation among youth, as they are more likely to participate in the democratic process when they feel informed and driven by their economic status.
