Germany Federal election 2021 — Results

Setting the scene

The 2021 German federal election, held on 26 September 2021, elected the 20th Bundestag and ended the Merkel era. After 16 years in power, Angela Merkel did not stand again, and her CDU/CSU suffered its worst-ever result. The centre-left SPD, written off for much of the parliament, staged a remarkable late recovery under Olaf Scholz to finish narrowly in first place. The outcome produced Germany's first three-party federal coalition in over 60 years — the "traffic-light" alliance of SPD (red), FDP (yellow) and Greens — with Scholz as chancellor. Turnout was 76.4%.

The electoral system

Germany uses mixed-member proportional representation: a first vote for a local constituency MP and a decisive second vote (Zweitstimme) for a party list that sets each party's overall share of the Bundestag. Parties must clear a 5% threshold or win three constituencies. The compensating overhang and levelling seats pushed the 2021 Bundestag to 735 members, prompting the electoral reform that would shrink the next parliament. The figures here are the second vote.

The political context

The campaign was unusually volatile. The Greens, who briefly led the polls after nominating Annalena Baerbock as their first chancellor candidate, faded amid campaign missteps. The Union's candidate, Armin Laschet, was damaged by a gaffe — he was filmed laughing during a visit to flood-ravaged communities — while the SPD's Scholz, the sitting finance minister, ran a disciplined campaign presenting himself as the natural Merkel successor. Climate, the post-pandemic recovery and pensions dominated the debate.

The result

The SPD won 25.71% and 206 seats, just ahead of the Union on 24.14% and 197 — a collapse of nearly nine points for the CDU/CSU. The Greens rose to their best-ever result, 14.72% and 118 seats, and the FDP took 11.43% and 91. The AfD slipped to 10.39% and 83, while the Left fell below 5% and survived only because it won three constituencies, keeping 39 seats. The Danish-minority SSW, exempt from the threshold, won a seat for the first time since the 1940s. (These figures reflect the official result after a court-ordered partial re-run in Berlin in 2024.)

Regional breakdown

The SPD's recovery was broad: it won the second vote in most states, including much of the north, west and the formerly Union-leaning centre. The Union held its strongholds of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, while the AfD again topped the poll in Saxony and Thuringia, confirming its entrenchment in parts of the east. The map above shows the second-vote winner in each state; click any state for the breakdown.

What happened next

The SPD, Greens and FDP negotiated quickly and Olaf Scholz was elected chancellor in December 2021. The traffic-light coalition governed through the energy and inflation shock that followed Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a period Scholz called a "Zeitenwende" (turning point) as Germany rearmed and weaned itself off Russian gas. Persistent infighting — especially between the FDP and its partners over spending and debt — would ultimately tear the coalition apart in late 2024, triggering the snap election of 2025.

Where the data comes from

Die Bundeswahlleiterin (Federal Returning Officer) — official results at bundeswahlleiterin.de.

Compiled and reviewed from official results by ElectioMap. See our data methodology.