Poll: Almost 60% of Germans are not ready to fight for their country in case of invasion
German soldiers (Photo: nara.getarchive.net)

Almost two-thirds of Germans would probably not defend their country from invaders in the event of an attack, a finding that deals a blow to the government's rearmament plans. About testify results of a survey by the Forsa sociological institute, published by the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) media group

According to the survey, 59% of respondents said they were "probably" or "definitely" unwilling to defend the country from attack.

Among women, 72% are ready, among men – 46%. The lowest number of those ready for armed defense is among the elderly (68%) and young people under 29 (56%).

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16% of Germans were "definitely" ready to take up arms to defend Germany, while 22% said they would "probably" do so.

Also, according to the survey, 27% of Germans believe it is likely that Germany will experience a military attack in the next five years.

At the same time, 59% are convinced that the country will be forced to provide military assistance to a NATO ally if it is attacked.

Against this backdrop, 67% of respondents support plans to double the defense budget by 2032, while 30% are against.

Among them, 92% of supporters of the conservative CDU/CSU parties support doubling the defense budget. Among the voters of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, 75% approve of this idea, and among the supporters of the Green Party – 76%.

The voters of the Left Party and the far-right Alternative for Germany are against increasing defense spending – 59% and 52% respectively.

According to the survey, 41% of Germans consider the Bundeswehr to be one of the worst-equipped armies in NATO, while another 46% rate it as average in terms of equipment.

Regarding the reintroduction of compulsory military service, 60% of respondents would support its return if there is a shortage of volunteers. 37% are against it.

The representative survey was conducted on July 28 and 29 at the request of RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland at the Forsa Institute for Public Opinion Research, with 1,002 respondents.

  • on June 9, 2025, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated that Russia is building up the military potential, including increasing production of tanks, armored vehicles, and missiles of various types. In five years, it will be ready to use military force against NATO.
  • on June 24, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also confirmed that Russia may attack nATO member states in the next five years to test the strength of the Alliance.
  • on July 15, it was reported that France was preparing for a possible of a major war in Europe by 2030.