In 2024, the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party saw its membership increase by 33.1%,making it the fastest-growing party in rhineland-Palatinate. The Greens followed with a 25.3% rise, and Die Linke experienced an 18.2% increase. The Free Voters reported a 19.2% growth. This data originates from a study shared with SWR, a regional public broadcasting company, which surveyed all parties represented in the German Bundestag.
Conversely, conventional parties experienced declines. The FDP lost the most members, down 5.8%,followed by the SPD at 3% and the CDU at 0.4%.Comparative membership data for the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance, founded in 2024, is not yet available.
Nationwide, the AfD gained members in all federal states, with a 29.6% increase since 2023. The Greens grew by 23.3%, Die Linke by 16.5%, and the CDU saw its first growth since 1999, at 0.3%.the FDP and SPD declined by 6.1% and 2.2%, respectively.
Political scientist Oskar Niedermayer, the study’s author, highlights a long-term decline in German party membership, falling from nearly 4% of the population in 1980 to 1.6% in 2023, with little expectation of reversal.
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