electionstracker

Germany 1920 federal election

What was the result of the 1920 federal election in Germany?

Social Democratic Party of Germany won 113 of 466 seats with 21.6% of the vote. 80.1% of registered voters cast a ballot.

  • Germany
  • Held:
  • Final result
  • ParlGov, read 5 October 2026

Which party won the most seats?

Final results from ParlGov, read : Social Democratic Party of Germany won 113 of 466 seats with 21.6% of the vote; 80.1% of registered voters cast a ballot.

  • Social Democratic Party of Germany 113 21.6%
  • Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany 81 18.8%
  • German People's Party 62 13.9%
  • Centre Party 67 13.6%
  • German National People's Party 60 12.9%
  • German Democratic Party 44 8.5%
  • Bavarian People's Party 20 4.5%
  • Communist Party of Germany 2 1.7%
  • German-Hanoverian Party 5 1.2%
  • Bavarian Peasants' League 4 0.8%
  • Farmers and Wine Growers Association 3 0.7%
  • Rural Federation Thuringia 3 0.6%
  • Seats won
  • Share of the vote
  • Social Democratic Party of Germany113
  • Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany81
  • Centre Party67
  • German People's Party62
  • German National People's Party60
  • German Democratic Party44
  • Bavarian People's Party20
  • German-Hanoverian Party5
  • Bavarian Peasants' League4
  • Farmers and Wine Growers Association3
  • Rural Federation Thuringia3
  • Communist Party of Germany2
  • Unnamed party with one seat2
234 of 466 seats make a majority

Key numbers

  1. 21.6%

    Share of the vote won by Social Democratic Party of Germany

    Social Democratic Party of Germany won 113 of 466 seats. A majority needs 234.

  2. 80.1%

    Voter turnout

Seats and votes by party

PartySeats%Votes
Social Democratic Party of Germany11321.65,617,687
Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany8118.84,897,401
German People's Party6213.93,611,286
Centre Party6713.63,542,759
German National People's Party6012.93,368,297
German Democratic Party448.52,202,944
Bavarian People's Party204.51,173,344
Communist Party of Germany21.7442,045
German-Hanoverian Party51.2319,108
Bavarian Peasants' League40.8218,596
Farmers and Wine Growers Association30.7195,777
Rural Federation Thuringia30.6176,546
Largest party without seats00.388,800
Unnamed party with one seat20.365,260
Votes by party
  • Social Democratic Party of Germany 5,617,687
  • Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany 4,897,401
  • German People's Party 3,611,286
  • Centre Party 3,542,759
  • German National People's Party 3,368,297
  • German Democratic Party 2,202,944
  • Bavarian People's Party 1,173,344
  • Communist Party of Germany 442,045
  • German-Hanoverian Party 319,108
  • Bavarian Peasants' League 218,596
  • Farmers and Wine Growers Association 195,777
  • Rural Federation Thuringia 176,546
  • Largest party without seats 88,800
  • Unnamed party with one seat 65,260

ParlGov lists parties with at least 1 percent of the vote or 2 seats, so the rows do not add up to the valid votes.

ParlGov marks results before 1945 as experimental: they may need revision, so we compare them with no other election.

How many people voted?

80.1% of the 32,727,888 registered voters cast a ballot (26,229,829 ballots). 26,035,838 of them were valid votes.

How do the votes compare with the seats?

  • Social Democratic Party of Germany21.6% of votes24.2% of seats
  • Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany18.8% of votes17.4% of seats
  • Centre Party13.6% of votes14.4% of seats
  • German People's Party13.9% of votes13.3% of seats
  • German National People's Party12.9% of votes12.9% of seats
  • German Democratic Party8.5% of votes9.4% of seats
  • Bavarian People's Party4.5% of votes4.3% of seats
  • German-Hanoverian Party1.2% of votes1.1% of seats
  • Bavarian Peasants' League0.8% of votes0.9% of seats
  • Farmers and Wine Growers Association0.7% of votes0.6% of seats
  • Rural Federation Thuringia0.6% of votes0.6% of seats
  • Communist Party of Germany1.7% of votes0.4% of seats
Each party's share of the vote (outlined) and of the seats (filled)

The Gallagher index of disproportionality is 2.5 (0 when seats follow votes exactly); the effective number of parties is 6.8 by votes and 6.5 by seats; Social Democratic Party of Germany led Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany by 2.8 points of the vote.

Time and source Data as of