What is the difference between an exit poll, a projection and the final result?

The exit poll is based on surveys of voters immediately after they cast their ballot and is published the moment polling stations close. A projection extrapolates the votes already counted to the country as a whole and becomes more accurate as counting proceeds. The final official result is only confirmed once every vote has been counted and certified by the electoral authority.

Why doesn't a party's vote share match its share of the seats?

Votes are converted into seats under the rules of the electoral system. Electoral thresholds leave small parties without a mandate, while constituencies, rounding methods or additional seats shift the distribution further. That is why a party with less than half of the votes can end up with more than half of the seats.

Who forms the government after the election?

A government needs a majority of the seats in parliament behind it – either a single party or several together in a coalition. The election only distributes the seats; which alliance emerges from them is negotiated afterwards.

Germany Bundestag Election: Results, Seat Distribution, and Coalition Options

Election Winner

CDU/CSU

32.9 % of votes

Parties in Parliament

+2 compared to 2013

Voter Turnout

76.2 %

+4.7 percentage points compared to 2013

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Final Official Results of the Bundestag Election

The bars show each party's vote share, the chips the swing since the previous election. Bundestag Election Results on 24 September 2017

CDU/CSU

32.9

-8.6

SPD

20.5

-5.2

AfD

12.6

+7.9

FDP

10.7

+5.9

Linke

9.2

+0.6

Grüne

8.9

+0.5

PARTEI

1.0

+0.8

1.0

±0.0

Tier

0.8

+0.5

Heimat

0.4

-0.9

Piraten

0.4

-1.8

ÖDP

0.3

±0.0

BGE

0.2

+0.2

ADD

0.1

+0.1

DiB

0.1

+0.1

Jung

0.1

+0.1

Tieralli.

0.1

+0.1

V³

0.1

+0.1

0.1

±0.0

MLPD

0.1

±0.0

< 0.1

±0.0

Bünd. C

< 0.1

±0.0

BüSO

< 0.1

±0.0

DKP

< 0.1

±0.0

einheit

< 0.1

±0.0

Frauen

< 0.1

±0.0

Graue

< 0.1

±0.0

Rechte

< 0.1

±0.0

du.

< 0.1

±0.0

Violette

< 0.1

±0.0

FAMILIE

< 0.1

±0.0

Garten

< 0.1

±0.0

SGP

< 0.1

±0.0

M.WELT

< 0.1

±0.0

Mieter

< 0.1

±0.0

< 0.1

±0.0

PdH

< 0.1

±0.0

UNABH.

< 0.1

±0.0

Volksabstimmung

< 0.1

-0.1

PDV

< 0.1

-0.1

Government could remain in office

The incumbent governing parties achieved 56.3% of the seats.

Seat Distribution After the Bundestag Election

Total seats

709

Majority

355

Parties

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Coalition Calculator: Paths to Majority in Germany's Bundestag

355

0 709

Majority 355

Parties

Select parties to test coalitions.

Scenarios: What if...?

Select all parties near the electoral threshold that should enter parliament. electoral threshold at 5%.

How Polls Shifted Ahead of the Bundestag Election

API Research Data

Latest Election Polls from Polling Institutes

Score Avg. Deviation	Institute	Date	CDU/CSU	SPD	AfD	Linke	FDP	Grüne
83 1.07	INSA	22 September 2017	34.0 – +1.1	21.0 – +0.5	13.0 – +0.4	11.0 – +1.8	9.0 – -1.7	8.0 – -0.9
85 1.33	Forschungsgruppe Wahlen	21 September 2017	36.0 – +3.1	21.5 – +1.0	11.0 – -1.6	8.5 – -0.7	10.0 – -0.7	8.0 – -0.9
85 1.33	Infratest dimap	14 September 2017	37.0 – +4.1	20.0 – -0.5	12.0 – -0.6	9.0 – -0.2	9.5 – -1.2	7.5 – -1.4
82 1.43	Verian	22 September 2017	35.0 – +2.1	22.0 – +1.5	11.0 – -1.6	10.0 – +0.8	9.0 – -1.7	8.0 – -0.9
79 1.52	Allensbach	19 September 2017	36.5 – +3.6	22.0 – +1.5	10.0 – -2.6	9.0 – -0.2	11.0 – +0.3	8.0 – -0.9
83 1.60	Forsa	22 September 2017	36.0 – +3.1	22.0 – +1.5	11.0 – -1.6	9.5 – +0.3	9.5 – -1.2	7.0 – -1.9
83 1.67	Civey	22 September 2017	36.2 – +3.3	22.0 – +1.5	10.3 – -2.3	9.8 – +0.6	9.6 – -1.1	7.7 – -1.2
61 1.77	Trend Research Hamburg	18 September 2017	36.0 – +3.1	22.0 – +1.5	11.0 – -1.6	10.0 – +0.8	9.0 – -1.7	7.0 – -1.9
86 1.83	GMS	21 September 2017	37.0 – +4.1	22.0 – +1.5	10.0 – -2.6	9.0 – -0.2	9.0 – -1.7	8.0 – -0.9
75 2.10	YouGov	21 September 2017	36.0 – +3.1	23.0 – +2.5	10.0 – -2.6	10.0 – +0.8	9.0 – -1.7	7.0 – -1.9
85 3.67	Ipsos	13 July 2017	39.0 – +6.1	26.0 – +5.5	8.0 – -4.6	8.0 – -1.2	8.0 – -2.7	7.0 – -1.9
How reliable are the institutes?

Who Governed Germany After the Bundestag Election

Election Day 24/09/2017 Government formation 5 months 18 days Merkel IV 14/03/2018 – 08/12/2021

Merkel IV

14 March 2018 – 8 December 2021 · 3 years 8 months

399 of 709 seats

All Elections

Every party in detail: votes, gains and losses

Behind each vote share we also show what percentage of all eligible voters backed a party – non-voters included.

Orientation	Party	Votes	Electorate	Seats
Centre-Right	CDU/CSU	32.9 % -8.6	25.1 %	246 -65
Centre-Left	SPD	20.5 % -5.2	15.6 %	153 -40
Right	AfD	12.6 % +7.9	9.6 %	94 +94
Liberal	FDP	10.7 % +5.9	8.2 %	80 +80
Left	Die Linke	9.2 % +0.6	7.0 %	69 +5
Environment & Climate	Grüne	8.9 % +0.5	6.8 %	67 +4
Satire	Die PARTEI	1.0 % +0.8	0.8 %	0 ±0
Centre-Right	Freie Wähler	1.0 % ±0.0	0.8 %	0 ±0
Animal Welfare	Tierschutzpartei	0.8 % +0.5	0.6 %	0 ±0
Far-Right	Die Heimat	0.4 % -0.9	0.3 %	0 ±0
Centre-Left	Piratenpartei	0.4 % -1.8	0.3 %	0 ±0
Environment & Climate	ÖDP	0.3 % ±0.0	0.2 %	0 ±0
Unknown	Bündnis Grundeinkommen	0.2 % +0.2	0.2 %	0 ±0
Center	Allianz Deutscher Demokraten	0.1 % +0.1	0.1 %	0 ±0
Left	Demokratie in Bewegung	0.1 % +0.1	0.1 %	0 ±0
Transversal	Partei für Verjüngungsforschung	0.1 % +0.1	0.1 %	0 ±0
Unknown	Tierschutzallianz	0.1 % +0.1	0.1 %	0 ±0
Unknown	V-Partei³	0.1 % +0.1	0.1 %	0 ±0
Right	Bayernpartei	0.1 % ±0.0	0.1 %	0 ±0
Far-Left	MLPD	0.1 % ±0.0	0.1 %	0 ±0
Satire	Bergpartei	< 0.1 % ±0.0	< 0.1 %	0 ±0
Unknown	Bündnis C	< 0.1 % ±0.0	< 0.1 %	0 ±0
Transversal	Bürgerrechtsbewegung Solidarität	< 0.1 % ±0.0	< 0.1 %	0 ±0
Unknown	Deutsche Kommunistische Partei	< 0.1 % ±0.0	< 0.1 %	0 ±0
Right	Die Einheit	< 0.1 % ±0.0	< 0.1 %	0 ±0
Unknown	Die Frauen	< 0.1 % ±0.0	< 0.1 %	0 ±0
Center	Die Grauen – Graue Panther	< 0.1 % ±0.0	< 0.1 %	0 ±0
Far-Right	Die Rechte	< 0.1 % ±0.0	< 0.1 %	0 ±0
Left	Die Urbane	< 0.1 % ±0.0	< 0.1 %	0 ±0
Unknown	Die Violetten	< 0.1 % ±0.0	< 0.1 %	0 ±0
Centre-Right	FAMILIE	< 0.1 % ±0.0	< 0.1 %	0 ±0
Center	Gartenpartei	< 0.1 % ±0.0	< 0.1 %	0 ±0
Unknown	Gleichheitspartei	< 0.1 % ±0.0	< 0.1 %	0 ±0
Unknown	MENSCHLICHE WELT	< 0.1 % ±0.0	< 0.1 %	0 ±0
Left	Mieterpartei	< 0.1 % ±0.0	< 0.1 %	0 ±0
Unknown	Neue Liberale	< 0.1 % ±0.0	< 0.1 %	0 ±0
Unknown	Partei der Humanisten	< 0.1 % ±0.0	< 0.1 %	0 ±0
Center	Unabhängige	< 0.1 % ±0.0	< 0.1 %	0 ±0
Unknown	Demokratie durch Volksabstimmung	< 0.1 % -0.1	< 0.1 %	0 ±0
Liberal	Partei der Vernunft	< 0.1 % -0.1	< 0.1 %	0 ±0

Germany's Bundestag Election: The Contesting Parties

Conservative

Social

Market

Progressive

Your position in comparison

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CDU/CSU Christian Democratic SPD Social Democratic AfD Right Populist FDP Liberal Die Linke Left Grüne Green Die PARTEI Left Freie Wähler Conservative Show all parties

All Parties

Germany's Bundestag Election: How It Compares to Past Contests

2017 Voter Turnout 76.2%

32.9 20.5 12.6 10.7 9.2 8.9

2013 Voter Turnout 71.5%

41.5 25.7 4.7 4.8 8.6 8.4

2009 Voter Turnout 70.9%

33.8 23.0 14.6 11.9 10.7

All Elections

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