electionstracker

Germany 1953 federal election

What was the result of the 1953 federal election in Germany?

CDU/CSU won 243 of 487 seats with 45.2% of the vote. 86.0% 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 : CDU/CSU won 243 of 487 seats with 45.2% of the vote; 86.0% of registered voters cast a ballot, up 7.5 points on 1949.

  • Christian Democratic Union of Germany 191 +76 seats 36.4% +11.2 points
  • Social Democratic Party of Germany 151 +20 seats 28.8% −0.4 points
  • Free Democratic Party 48 −4 seats 9.5% −2.4 points
  • Christian Social Union in Bavaria 52 +28 seats 8.8% +3.0 points
  • All-German Bloc/League of Expellees and Deprived of Rights 27 5.9%
  • German Party 15 −2 seats 3.3% −0.7 points
  • Communist Party of Germany 0 −15 seats 2.2% −3.5 points
  • Bavaria Party 0 −17 seats 1.7% −2.5 points
  • Centre Party 3 −7 seats 0.8% −2.3 points
  • Seats won
  • Change on the previous election at the right
  • Share of the vote
  • Share at the previous election
  • Change in points at the right

Changes are against the Germany 1949 federal election, party by party.

244 of 487 seats make a majority

Key numbers

  1. 45.2%

    Combined share of the vote of CDU/CSU

    CDU/CSU won 243 of 487 seats. A majority needs 244.

  2. +104 seats

    Seats gained by CDU/CSU

    The largest gain in seats compared with 1949. Bavaria Party lost 17 seats.

  3. 86.0%

    Voter turnout

    Up 7.5 points on 1949.

Seats and votes by party

PartySeats± seats%± pointsVotes
Christian Democratic Union of Germany191+7636.4+11.210,016,594
Social Democratic Party of Germany151+2028.8−0.47,944,943
Free Democratic Party48−49.5−2.42,629,163
Christian Social Union in Bavaria52+288.8+3.02,427,387
All-German Bloc/League of Expellees and Deprived of Rights275.91,616,953
German Party15−23.3−0.7896,128
Communist Party of Germany0−152.2−3.5607,860
Bavaria Party0−171.7−2.5465,641
All-German People's Party01.2318,475
Deutsche Reichspartei0−51.1−0.7295,739
Centre Party3−70.8−2.3217,078

± is the change against the Germany 1949 federal election, party by party.

Votes by party
  • Christian Democratic Union of Germany 10,016,594
  • Social Democratic Party of Germany 7,944,943
  • Free Democratic Party 2,629,163
  • Christian Social Union in Bavaria 2,427,387
  • All-German Bloc/League of Expellees and Deprived of Rights 1,616,953
  • German Party 896,128
  • Communist Party of Germany 607,860
  • Bavaria Party 465,641
  • All-German People's Party 318,475
  • Deutsche Reichspartei 295,739
  • Centre Party 217,078

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.

How many people voted?

86.0% of the 33,120,940 registered voters cast a ballot (28,479,550 ballots), up 7.5 points on 1949. 27,551,272 of them were valid votes.

How do the votes compare with the seats?

  • CDU/CSU45.2% of votes49.9% of seats
  • Social Democratic Party of Germany28.8% of votes31.0% of seats
  • Free Democratic Party9.5% of votes9.9% of seats
  • All-German Bloc/League of Expellees and Deprived of Rights5.9% of votes5.5% of seats
  • German Party3.3% of votes3.1% of seats
  • Centre Party0.8% of votes0.6% of seats
  • Communist Party of Germany2.2% of votes0.0% of seats
Each party's share of the vote (outlined) and of the seats (filled)

The Gallagher index of disproportionality is 4.3 (0 when seats follow votes exactly); the effective number of parties is 3.3 by votes and 2.8 by seats; CDU/CSU led Social Democratic Party of Germany by 16.4 points of the vote.

Time and source Data as of