Anti-Muslim sentiment, right-wing extremism rise as democracy trust falls in Germany: Study
Anti-Muslim sentiment and right-wing extremist attitudes are rising in Germany, while trust in democracy has fallen to its lowest level in a quarter-century, according to a new study released on Wednesday.
The Leipzig Authoritarianism Study 2026, led by scholars Oliver Decker and Ayline Heller, found that 34.1% of respondents agree with statements reflecting anti-Muslim hostility. That marked an increase from 33.2% in 2024 and 26.5% in 2022.
Respondents were counted as holding anti-Muslim views if they endorsed generalized, prejudicial and discriminatory statements such as “Immigration of Muslims to Germany should be prohibited” and “Because of the many Muslims here I sometimes feel like a stranger in my own country.”
Agreement with Islamophobic statements was significantly higher in the eastern German states, where the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) made strong gains in recent regional elections on a platform of nationalist appeals and calls to halt immigration.
In these eastern states,41.6% of respondents endorsed anti-Muslim views, up from 38.2% in 2024. In western states, long regarded as more open to diversity, the figure stood at 32.2%, essentially unchanged from two years earlier.
Right-wing extremism gains ground
On right-wing extremism, the long decline measured since the survey series began in 2002 has reversed.
“Right-wing extremist attitudes are becoming more socially acceptable again,” the researchers warned.
“The last time we observed such increases in the overall figure across two consecutive surveys was after the 2008 banking crisis. This points to a shift in the social climate,” they noted.
The share of people holding a right-wing extremist worldview increased from 4.5% in 2024 to 6.9%. The figure stood higher in eastern German states at 8.5%, according to the latest survey.
Among those who favored a right-wing extremist worldview, party preference was predominantly supportive of the anti-immigrant AfD. In this year’s survey, 58.5% of that group said they voted for the AfD.
Researchers also measured agreement with sweeping xenophobic claims, such as the assertions that foreigners come only to exploit the welfare state or that they should be sent home when jobs are scarce. Overall, 19.9% of respondents endorsed these views, with the figure climbing to 27.7% in the east and standing at 18% in the west.
Democracy support reaches new low
Support for democracy as an idea fell below 90% for the first time in the survey’s history, reaching 89.3%. The drop was driven by a sharp decline in eastern Germany, where backing fell from 94.6% in 2024 to 85.7% this year.
Satisfaction with the democratic order as defined in the constitution stood at 65.2%. Far fewer people were content with how democracy actually works in daily life: only 33.3% nationwide and 22.8% in the east expressed satisfaction — the lowest figures recorded since the series began.
Nearly one in four respondents agreed that “What Germany needs now is a single strong party,” while another 24.3% said they partly agreed.
The biannual Leipzig study has measured authoritarian and right-wing attitudes since 2002. Eastern Germany has consistently registered higher levels of xenophobia, anti-Muslim hostility, chauvinism and support for authoritarian positions than the west.
AA
