What are the issues affecting young people in Germany?

Based on official statistics and representative surveys of young people, this collection of materials provides an overview of the living conditions of 12- to 30-year-olds in Germany. It also discusses whether there is a connection between the living conditions of young people and their voting decisions for parties at the fringes of the democratic spectrum in the 2025 federal election.

Here are some insights:

• Young people in Germany are more culturally diverse than ever before: 43 per cent of 10- to 19-year-olds have a migrant background. Depending on the level of support they receive from their parents, they grow up with very different opportunities for the future.

• For almost all of them, however, social advancement through education has become more uncertain.

• Young people's fear of poverty is increasing, relatively independently of their school qualifications.

• Young people also perceive uncertainties in terms of internal and external security, their retirement provisions and the housing market situation, as well as climate change and their important need to build resilience.

• It is striking that the Left Party and the AfD, the winners among young voters, explicitly addressed the issues and fears of young people. Social media acted as an amplifier in this regard.

• At the same time, young people's voting decisions are characterised by volatility; in the 2021 federal election, the Greens and the FDP were the winners among young voters. Centrist democratic parties were able to give greater visibility to youth issues, which already have played an important role in their federal election manifestos (2025), and more specifically and outspokenly target young voters.

Read the entire Publication ‘Die Themen der Jugend – Lebenswünsche, Krisen und Zukunftssorgen‘ here as a PDF. Please note, to date this paper is only available in German.