electionstracker

Germany 1961 federal election

What was the result of the 1961 federal election in Germany?

CDU/CSU won 242 of 499 seats with 45.4% of the vote. 87.7% 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 242 of 499 seats with 45.4% of the vote; 87.7% of registered voters cast a ballot, unchanged on 1957.

  • Social Democratic Party of Germany 190 +21 seats 36.2% +4.4 points
  • Christian Democratic Union of Germany 192 −25 seats 35.8% −3.9 points
  • Free Democratic Party 67 +26 seats 12.8% +5.1 points
  • Christian Social Union in Bavaria 50 −3 seats 9.6% −0.9 points
  • All-German Party 0 2.8%
  • German Peace Union 0 1.9%
  • 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 1957 federal election, party by party.

250 of 499 seats make a majority

Key numbers

  1. 45.4%

    Combined share of the vote of CDU/CSU

    CDU/CSU won 242 of 499 seats. A majority needs 250.

  2. +26 seats

    Seats gained by Free Democratic Party

    The largest gain in seats compared with 1957. CDU/CSU lost 28 seats.

  3. 87.7%

    Voter turnout

    Unchanged on 1957.

Seats and votes by party

PartySeats± seats%± pointsVotes
Social Democratic Party of Germany190+2136.2+4.411,427,355
Christian Democratic Union of Germany192−2535.8−3.911,283,901
Free Democratic Party67+2612.8+5.14,028,766
Christian Social Union in Bavaria50−39.6−0.93,014,471
All-German Party02.8870,756
German Peace Union01.9609,918

± is the change against the Germany 1957 federal election, party by party.

Votes by party
  • Social Democratic Party of Germany 11,427,355
  • Christian Democratic Union of Germany 11,283,901
  • Free Democratic Party 4,028,766
  • Christian Social Union in Bavaria 3,014,471
  • All-German Party 870,756
  • German Peace Union 609,918

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?

87.7% of the 37,440,715 registered voters cast a ballot (32,849,624 ballots), unchanged on 1957. 31,550,901 of them were valid votes.

How do the votes compare with the seats?

  • CDU/CSU45.4% of votes48.5% of seats
  • Social Democratic Party of Germany36.2% of votes38.1% of seats
  • Free Democratic Party12.8% of votes13.4% of seats
  • All-German Party2.8% of votes0.0% of seats
Each party's share of the vote (outlined) and of the seats (filled)

The Gallagher index of disproportionality is 3.5 (0 when seats follow votes exactly); the effective number of parties is 2.8 by votes and 2.5 by seats; CDU/CSU led Social Democratic Party of Germany by 9.2 points of the vote.

Time and source Data as of