The biggest concern for Germans in 2023: rising prices and costs.

Top fears of 2023
Germans fear for their prosperity

October 12, 2023, 11:51 a.m

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Alljährlich werden die Deutschen nach ihren Ängsten gefragt, manchmal ist die größte Sorge der Jobverlust, manchmal Krieg. 2023 dominieren eindeutig steigende Preise und Kosten die Ängste.
Die Angst vor stark steigenden Lebenshaltungskosten ist laut einer repräsentativen Umfrage die größte Sorge der Menschen in Deutschland. Mehr als zwei Drittel (65 Prozent) der Befragten gaben an, dass sie sich vor anziehenden Preisen fürchteten, wie die Langzeitstudie „Die Ängste der Deutschen“ ergab.

Concerns about rising costs also landed in second and third place in the rankings: Six out of ten German citizens (60 percent) are afraid that housing will become unaffordable and almost as many (57 percent) fear that the state will permanently increase taxes or cut benefits.

The survey “The Fears of Germans” has been regularly commissioned by R+V Insurance for more than 30 years and is considered a small seismograph of sensitivities surrounding politics, the economy, family and health. For this year's survey, around 2,400 people aged 14 and over were interviewed by pollsters between June and August. Participants were asked to rate given topics on a scale from one (not afraid at all) to seven (very afraid). The ranking is determined from this.

Growing fears of relegation

According to the information, the fear of rising living costs is regularly at the top of the greatest fears, including last year. Germany recorded the highest inflation since the founding of the Federal Republic. As a result, life has become dramatically more expensive. This year too, increased prices are making themselves felt, not least at the supermarket checkout. "People feel their livelihoods are threatened and their standard of living is at risk. This fuels fears of decline," said political scientist Isabelle Borucki, who accompanied the study as a consultant.

What has increased most this year, however, is concern that the number of refugees is overwhelming the Germans and their authorities. This increased by eleven percentage points to 56 percent compared to the previous year. "So far, this fear has always been significantly greater in the East than in the West. That is changing this year," says the study. In West Germany, this concern rose by 13 percentage points; in East Germany it remained unchanged.

“What was a predominantly East German concern has become an issue that affects people everywhere in Germany,” said political scientist Isabelle Borucki from the University of Marburg. “The respondents are afraid that the integration will not succeed.” Politicians must take this development seriously and identify solutions “so that migration is experienced as an opportunity and not as a threat.”