electionstracker

Germany 1976 federal election

What was the result of the 1976 federal election in Germany?

CDU/CSU won 243 of 496 seats with 48.7% of the vote. 90.7% 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 243 of 496 seats with 48.7% of the vote; 90.7% of registered voters cast a ballot, down 0.4 points on 1972.

  • Social Democratic Party of Germany 214 −16 seats 42.6% −3.2 points
  • Christian Democratic Union of Germany 190 +13 seats 38.1% +2.9 points
  • Christian Social Union in Bavaria 53 +5 seats 10.6% +0.9 points
  • Free Democratic Party 39 −2 seats 7.9% −0.5 points
  • National Democratic Party 0 0 seats 0.3% −0.3 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 1972 federal election, party by party.

249 of 496 seats make a majority

Key numbers

  1. 48.7%

    Combined share of the vote of CDU/CSU

    CDU/CSU won 243 of 496 seats. A majority needs 249.

  2. +18 seats

    Seats gained by CDU/CSU

    The largest gain in seats compared with 1972. Social Democratic Party of Germany lost 16 seats.

  3. 90.7%

    Voter turnout

    Down 0.4 points on 1972.

Seats and votes by party

PartySeats± seats%± pointsVotes
Social Democratic Party of Germany214−1642.6−3.216,099,019
Christian Democratic Union of Germany190+1338.1+2.914,367,302
Christian Social Union in Bavaria53+510.6+0.94,027,499
Free Democratic Party39−27.9−0.52,995,085
National Democratic Party000.3−0.3122,661

± is the change against the Germany 1972 federal election, party by party.

Votes by party
  • Social Democratic Party of Germany 16,099,019
  • Christian Democratic Union of Germany 14,367,302
  • Christian Social Union in Bavaria 4,027,499
  • Free Democratic Party 2,995,085
  • National Democratic Party 122,661

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?

90.7% of the 42,058,015 registered voters cast a ballot (38,165,753 ballots), down 0.4 points on 1972. 37,822,500 of them were valid votes.

How do the votes compare with the seats?

  • CDU/CSU48.7% of votes49.0% of seats
  • Social Democratic Party of Germany42.6% of votes43.1% of seats
  • Free Democratic Party7.9% of votes7.9% of seats
Each party's share of the vote (outlined) and of the seats (filled)

The Gallagher index of disproportionality is 0.5 (0 when seats follow votes exactly); the effective number of parties is 2.4 by votes and 2.3 by seats; CDU/CSU led Social Democratic Party of Germany by 6.1 points of the vote.

Time and source Data as of