More German young men identify with right-wing politics: study

The proportion of young German men who consider themselves politically "more to the right" has risen significantly since 2019, according to a new study released on Tuesday.

In a survey conducted at the beginning of 2024, a quarter of all young men in Germany stated that they were politically "right-wing" or "fairly right-wing."

In 2019, the proportion was 16%, according to the Shell Youth Study, which was commissioned by the multinational oil giant Shell. The results of the study were presented in Berlin at midday.

Among young women, on the other hand, political orientation has remained relatively stable, with only a very slight increase from 10% in 2019 to 11% in the most recent survey.

The survey asked 2,509 young people between the ages of 12 and 25 about their attitudes to various topics, including family, friends, political attitudes and current conflicts in the world.

Researchers from Bielefeld University and Austria's Vorarlberg University of Education analysed the material in collaboration with the Verian Institute.

The researchers' findings align with September regional election results in three eastern German states, in which exit polls found that young voters in particular backed the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

According to study author Mathias Albert, some young people are particularly susceptible to right-wing populist political appeals.

"We see a considerable proportion of disgruntled young people, around 12% of young people in total," he said. "There is also a considerable proportion of critical and dissatisfied young people."

However, he and his team do not see a general shift to the right among young people. The overall results indicated that young people on average even place themselves "slightly to the left," according to the study.

What is striking, however, is that young people, regardless of gender, have a clearer idea of their political attitudes than they did five years ago.

While in 2019, around 17% of young men said they did not know where they stood politically, in 2024 only 8% responded with "don't know" to that question. The trend was similar for young women.

Overall, however, trust in the state and democracy is "stable," the researchers found.

Nevertheless, today's youth generation has major concerns and global politics have "left their mark."

A total of 80% of participants stated that they were afraid of war in Europe. An equally large proportion were concerned about the economic situation and the possibility of growing poverty.