electionstracker

Germany 1965 federal election

What was the result of the 1965 federal election in Germany?

CDU/CSU won 245 of 496 seats with 47.8% of the vote. 86.8% 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 245 of 496 seats with 47.8% of the vote; 86.8% of registered voters cast a ballot, down 1.0 points on 1961.

  • Social Democratic Party of Germany 202 +12 seats 39.3% +3.1 points
  • Christian Democratic Union of Germany 196 +4 seats 38.2% +2.4 points
  • Christian Social Union in Bavaria 49 −1 seat 9.6% 0.0 points
  • Free Democratic Party 49 −18 seats 9.5% −3.3 points
  • National Democratic Party 0 2.0%
  • German Peace Union 0 0 seats 1.3% −0.6 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 1961 federal election, party by party.

249 of 496 seats make a majority

Key numbers

  1. 47.8%

    Combined share of the vote of CDU/CSU

    CDU/CSU won 245 of 496 seats. A majority needs 249.

  2. +12 seats

    Seats gained by Social Democratic Party of Germany

    The largest gain in seats compared with 1961. Free Democratic Party lost 18 seats.

  3. 86.8%

    Voter turnout

    Down 1.0 points on 1961.

Seats and votes by party

PartySeats± seats%± pointsVotes
Social Democratic Party of Germany202+1239.3+3.112,813,186
Christian Democratic Union of Germany196+438.2+2.412,387,562
Christian Social Union in Bavaria49−19.60.03,136,506
Free Democratic Party49−189.5−3.33,096,739
National Democratic Party02.0664,193
German Peace Union001.3−0.6434,182

± is the change against the Germany 1961 federal election, party by party.

Votes by party
  • Social Democratic Party of Germany 12,813,186
  • Christian Democratic Union of Germany 12,387,562
  • Christian Social Union in Bavaria 3,136,506
  • Free Democratic Party 3,096,739
  • National Democratic Party 664,193
  • German Peace Union 434,182

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?

86.8% of the 38,510,395 registered voters cast a ballot (33,416,207 ballots), down 1.0 points on 1961. 32,620,442 of them were valid votes. The lowest turnout since 1953 in our data.

How do the votes compare with the seats?

  • CDU/CSU47.8% of votes49.4% of seats
  • Social Democratic Party of Germany39.3% of votes40.7% of seats
  • Free Democratic Party9.5% of votes9.9% of seats
  • National Democratic Party2.0% of votes0.0% of seats
Each party's share of the vote (outlined) and of the seats (filled)

The Gallagher index of disproportionality is 2.3 (0 when seats follow votes exactly); the effective number of parties is 2.5 by votes and 2.4 by seats; CDU/CSU led Social Democratic Party of Germany by 8.5 points of the vote.

Time and source Data as of