BERLIN

A majority of Germans are concerned about the future of democracy in their country due to the rise of far-right movements and populist political parties, according to a survey by YouGov.

The representative survey found that 53% of Germans believed democracy in their country was in danger, mainly due to the threat posed by far-right extremists and right-wing populists.

47% of those surveyed said they viewed the rise of far-right as the main threat to democracy, while 27% said they worried about growing support for the right-wing populist party.

Germany’s right-wing populist party Alternative for Germany (AfD) doubled its share of votes in regional elections earlier this month, and became the second-largest party in the states of Brandenburg and Saxony.

Among the AfD supporters, 54% of those surveyed said they worried about the future of democracy due to migrants, while 33% argued that the far-left was the biggest threat to democracy.

The survey was conducted using a representative sample of 2,020 German adults who were interviewed online between Aug. 22 to Sep. 1.