Democracy is generally widely approved. However, people in Germany are more critical of the democracy as it currently exists in their country. Only slightly less than half of the electorate (45 per cent) are very satisfied or satisfied with Germany’s current state of democracy.
We look back at a period in which satisfaction with democracy gradually declined. From January 2021, during the second lockdown of the covid-19 pandemic, to March 2024, satisfaction with the democracy in Germany gradually fell from 69 to 40 per cent. In the following year, satisfaction increased slightly. In March 2025, 45 per cent of the electorate are very satisfied or satisfied with Germany’s democracy in its current form.
People in eastern Germany are less satisfied with Germany’s democracy than people in western part. In March 2025, 48 per cent of West Germans are satisfied, but only 35 per cent of East Germans. However, at 13 percentage points, the gap is slightly smaller than previously. Between October 2018 and July 2023, the gap ranged mostly between 18 and 20 percentage points.
