2025 Bundestag elections

Bundestag

Democracy in Germany

New elections to be held in Germany

New elections to be held in Germany. What triggered the end of the governing coalition and what happens next?

Das deutsche Parlament: der Reichstag in Berlin

Democracy in Germany

Rules for crises

The vote of confidence – what is it?

Stability even when a coalition is in crisis: German democracy sets down clear procedures regarding the dealings between the government and the Bundestag.

Blick in den leeren Plenarsaal des Bundestags

What happens after the election

Find out here what happens after the federal election: How is the government formed and which time limits are specified by law?

Wahllokale befinden sich oft in Schulen.

Facts about the Bundestag election

The 2025 German federal election – key questions and answers surrounding the election of the country’s new parliament.

These are the parties represented in the Bundestag. Discover all the key facts here:

SPD

SPD: the oldest party

The SPD finds its origins in Germany’s oldest political parties. The Social Democrats still has close ties to unions and workers to this day.

Die Grünen

The Greens: the environmental party

Protection of the environment was the motivation for establishing the Greens in the early 1980s. Today they are in the coalition government.

Die Linke

Die Linke: the legacy of the GDR

Die Linke is the democratic successor to the former Socialist Unity Party in the GDR, the SED. The BSW was founded as a breakaway group from Die Linke in 2024.

FDP

FDP: Shaping German foreign policy

The pro-business, liberal FDP is in the governing coalition. In its heyday, its foreign ministers influenced European history.

CDU

CDU/CSU: the sister parties

The sister parties CDU and CSU, known as the “Union” for short, form the traditionally strongest party in Germany.

AfD

AfD: pretty far right

The populist right-wing party AfD rejects the European Union. It is also opposed to immigration and measures to combat climate change.

BSW

BSW: the newly founded party on the left of the political spectrum

A new political force made up of familiar faces: former members of Die Linke gather in the BSW.

How German democracy functions at the federal level:

Deutscher Bundestag

The German parliament and the parties

The German Bundestag is elected every four years by free, secret, and direct ballot by citizens aged 18 and over who are eligible to vote.

Bundestagswahl 2017: Jeder Wähler hat zwei Stimmen

This is the way the federal elections work

We explain why every citizen has two votes. Facts about the electoral system.

Briefwahlauszählung 2021 in der Messe Köln.

Bundestag elections

Civic participation

Ballot papers checked three times.

Elections in Germany: who counts the ballot papers? An election worker tells us about her work.

Briefwahl

How Germany votes

Election to the Bundestag (Federal parliament) – here we answer questions such as what rules apply, who can vote and what a ballot paper looks like.

Wahlraum

The citizen is sovereign

Politische Entscheidungen zwischen Fraktionsdisziplin und Moral.

How German politics decides

Deutscher Bundestag

Parties and political foundations in Germany

Go to this portals to find out more about the programs and the issues of all the political parties and their factions currently representing the citizens of Germany. With just one click you can also access the pages of the party-affiliated foundations.

Quick facts

735 seats in the Bundestag The parliament consists of at least 735 MPs.

299 constituencies Constituencies are so divided that there are about the same number of voters in each.

299 direct mandates The politician who receives the most votes in a constituency enters parliament with a direct mandate.

5 per cent Only parties that have received at least five per cent of the second votes may enter the Bundestag.

59,2 million German citizens are eligible to vote.

18 years of age is the minimum required age to vote and to run for office.

76.4 was the percentage of voter turnout in the 2021 Bundestag elections.

Want to understand German politics? Then you should familiarise yourself with the following topics:

Deutsche Bundesregierung

The German State

Blick in den leeren Plenarsaal des Bundestags

What happens after the election

Germany has a federal system. Get to know the 16 federal states here:

Schwerin

Federal States of Germany

Whether you’re interested in economic regions, research centers, natural landscapes or cultural scenes – here you’re given an overview.