Rising costs of living, authoritarian leaders, and Trump's policies rank as top concerns for Germans
52% Germans worry most about increasing living costs, 45% fear US president's policies will make the world more dangerous
BERLIN
Rising costs of living, authoritarian leaders, and US President Donald Trump's unpredictable policies topped Germans' worries this year, according to an annual survey released on Thursday.
The "Fears of the Germans 2025" survey found that 52% of Germans worry most about rising living costs, 47% are concerned about the growing number of authoritarian rulers worldwide, and 45% fear Trump's policies will make the world more dangerous.
"Although inflation has flattened, it remains a specter for Germans. They clearly feel how prices for energy, food and services continue to rise," said study director Grischa Brower-Rabinowitsch, adding that financial concerns dominated this year's rankings.
Financial concerns dominated Germans' top four worries this year. Inflation worried 52% of Germans, while 49% feared that the high number of asylum seekers could overwhelm the state's social security system. Tax increases or benefit cuts ranked third (49%), and unaffordable housing placed fourth (48%).
About 43% of Germans expressed concern about the rise of the far-right in the country. This represented an increase from last year's study, when only 38% reported worrying about right-wing extremism.
Fear of war involving Germany remained steady at 41%, largely unchanged since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022. Before the war, only 16% of Germans worried about their country's involvement in military conflict.
Other notable findings included a significant drop in climate change concerns, falling from 42% to 36%. Fear of natural disasters similarly decreased from 44% to 36%, despite recent extreme weather events across Europe.
The least fear among Germans was becoming victims of crime, with just 20% expressing concern — the lowest figure recorded in the survey.
The annual "Fears of the Germans" study, conducted for the 34th consecutive year, surveyed 2,400 demographically representative participants about their greatest political, economic, social, and ecological concerns. The survey was conducted between May 12 and July 22, 2025.
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