Most Germans (77%) perceive the economic situation in Germany as bad, according to a Yougov survey published on Thursday. Only one in five (19%) rate it as good.
The perception of a bad economic situation is widespread across all social groups, but is particularly prevalent in some of them. For example, older people often perceive the economic situation as worse than younger people: In age groups of 40 and above, nearly four out of five Germans consider the situation as bad (40-49 years: 78%, 50-59 years: 83%, 60-69 years: 81%, 70 years and older: 82%). Among the younger generation, it is roughly two out of three (18-30 years: 65%, 30-39 years: 67%).
Eighty-two percent of Germans with a low formal education level think the current economic situation is not good, a percentage that is lower among those with a medium (78%) or high (72%) formal education level. People living in rural areas (84%) and suburbs (78%) tend to rate the situation as worse than those living in cities (71%).
Looking back, nearly half of the Germans (47%) think their economic situation was worse under the current government than under the previous grand coalition between 2018 and 2021. Only one in ten (8%) think it was better, and a third (33%) see no difference.
Especially those with a low (50%) and medium (48%) formal education level are of the opinion that their economic situation worsened under the current government, a percentage that is lower among those with a high formal education level (42%). The perception of a worsening situation is more prevalent among those living in rural areas (51%) than in cities (44%) or suburbs (47%).
In reality, the data from Yougov shows that the perception of one’s economic situation among Germans has improved in 2024, but still not as good as in 2021. When asked how their household’s financial situation changed in the last 12 months, a third (34%) of the respondents in September 2024 said it had worsened, six percentage points more than in December 2021 (28%), when Olaf Scholz (SPD) was elected as Chancellor.
Half of the respondents (48%) said their situation had not changed in September 2024, a percentage that is higher than in December 2021, when 54% of the Germans said the same. The percentage of people who thought their situation worsened under the current government had reached a record high of 54% in September 2022.
Currently, nearly a third (32%) of the Germans trust the CDU the most to resolve economic issues, followed by the AfD (12%). The SPD comes in third, with only 9% of the respondents trusting them to handle economic issues. The Greens, FDP, BSW, and the Left play a negligible role in this regard, as only a quarter of the respondents do not name any party or cannot make an answer (No party: 14%, Do not know: 14%).
The data is based on online interviews, with a total of 2,415 people surveyed between November 29 and December 3, 2024.