star survey
The vast majority of Germans feel safe
It is unclear whether it is due to the surveillance cameras that are installed in many places: the vast majority of Germans have a high sense of security
© IMAGO/Michael Gstettenbauer
Even if it’s hard to believe given the excitement surrounding crime statistics, most Germans feel safe in their place.
The current crime statistics have caused great excitement in politics. Almost six million crimes were registered in 2023, 5.5 percent more than in the previous year. However, this does not seem to unsettle German citizens particularly, as a current Forsa survey commissioned by starresulted. A large majority of 83 percent of Germans feel safe (48 percent) or even very safe (35 percent) in their city or community. Only 16 percent say they feel less or not at all safe. The numbers remain practically unchanged compared to previous surveys (2016-2023).
There are hardly any differences in the sense of security between East and West and between men and women. The size of the location and party preference are much more important
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There were hardly any differences in feelings of security between East and West Germans at 81 and 84 percent respectively, nor between men and women (84 percent each). However, there are differences in the level of feeling of security: those under 45 are more likely to say they feel “very safe” in their city or community than respondents aged 45 and over.
Security: The bigger the place, the more unsafe
Meanwhile, there are big differences between cities and rural areas. In cities with more than 500,000 inhabitants, 25 percent feel unsafe, while in cities and communities with less than 5,000 inhabitants it is only 9 percent.
Party affiliation also plays a large role in feelings of security. 34 percent of AfD supporters feel less or not at all safe where they live and live, while only 3 percent of those from the Green Party feel safe. This is an indication that the subjective feeling of security is not only shaped by the living area, but also by one’s own political or ideological attitude, explains Peter Matuschek from Forsa.
The data was collected by the market and opinion research institute forsa for RTL Group Germany on April 11th and 12th, 2024. Database: 1001 respondents. Statistical margin of error: +/- 3 percentage points