Getty ImagesRight-wing extremists remain the greatest threat to German democracy and their number increased significantly to 58,700 last year, the country’s domestic intelligence service says.
That number is an increase of more than 8,000 on the previous year, the agency says in its annual report, adding that extreme left-wing violence is also on the rise and is an alarm-call for Germany’s rule of law.
German democracy was under “practically permanent attack” from both inside and outside, said Sinan Selen, the head of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV).
Intelligence activities against Germany originated primarily from Russia, China and Iran, it said.
The agency said the increase in the number of right-wing extremists was largely due to the growth of the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party, whose membership grew to 70,000 in 2025.
The AfD is due to hold its party conference in the eastern city of Erfurt at the weekend and Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt warned of potential violence during protests against the event. Protests must always remain non-violent, he said.
The AfD came second in federal elections last year, winning a record 152 seats in the 630-seat parliament with 20.8% of the vote.
The party is polling at about 40% ahead of elections in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt in September. This could be enough for an overall majority, meaning the party could form its first state-level government.
Far-right groups are increasingly focusing on influencing children and young people, and are recruiting new members at far-right music shows that also reached a record number last year, the BfV report said.
The AfD was designated as a right-wing extremist group last year, but that classification was suspended in February after the party challenged the BfV’s move in the courts and a ruling is still awaited.
The German foreign ministry defended the decision at the time, after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the move “tyranny in disguise” and Vice-President JD Vance said the Berlin Wall was being rebuilt.
The domestic intelligence agency still lists the party as a “suspected extremist organisation” and in its latest report it says: “Given the rising membership figures, it can be assumed that the pool of individuals with extremist leanings within the AfD has also expanded accordingly.”
It noted “right-wing extremist and conspiracy-theory narratives – such as that of a ‘population exchange’ or the ‘Great Replacement’ – are frequently picked up” by the the AfD and other groups on the right.
The report also identified around 26,000 far-right extremists from the “Reichsbürger” (Reich Citizens) and “Selbstverwalter” (self-administrator) groups.
These groups “do not recognise the Federal Republic as a state; they reject our constitution, laws, and authorities, frequently propagating conspiracy ideologies and antisemitic narratives”, the report stated.
The report also noted that the number of individuals involved in left-wing extremism grew by 4,200 last year, reaching 42,200. Violence against suspected right-wing extremists and police officers increased significantly, it said.
There was also a slight rise in the number of individuals involved in Islamism or “Islamist terrorism” to 28,645, the agency noted.
