As the German federal election is just three weeks away, a significantly lower number of candidates are running compared to the 2021 election. According to the Federal Returning Officer, there are 4,506 candidates, a decrease of nearly 1,700 from four years ago.
A total of 806 individuals are running in only one constituency, while 1,841 are only on a state list. 1,859 people are running in both a constituency and on a state list. In total, there are 3,700 people on the lists of the 229 state lists of the 29 parties that have been approved for the 2025 German federal election in the states. Among them, 1,298, or 35 percent, are women.
Candidates from the SPD, the CDU and CSU, as well as the FDP, are running in all 299 constituencies. The Greens and the Left are each authorized in 297 constituencies, while the AfD is in 295.
The number of independent single candidates has significantly decreased, from 197 in the 2021 federal election to 62 in the 2025 election. The total number of constituency candidates is 2,665, of which 712, or 27 percent, are women. On average, there are 8.9 candidates per constituency.
The ballot with the most party lists can be found in the constituency of 82 “Berlin-Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg – Prenzlauer Berg Ost” with 20 list positions. The fewest party lists, with 11 list positions, are on the ballots in five constituencies in Thuringia.
587 of the 733 current members of the German Bundestag are running again, which corresponds to an 80 percent share. 94 candidates are running for the first time after having turned 18 since the 2021 federal election. The youngest candidate is 18 years old and is running in the constituency of 295 “Zollernalb – Sigmaringen” in Baden-Württemberg. The oldest candidate, at 88 years old, is running on a state list in Hamburg. The average age of the 4,506 candidates is 45.3 years, a slight decrease from the 45.5 years in the 2021 election.