electionstracker

Germany 1983 federal election

What was the result of the 1983 federal election in Germany?

CDU/CSU won 244 of 498 seats with 48.8% of the vote. 89.1% 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 : CDU/CSU won 244 of 498 seats with 48.8% of the vote; 89.1% of registered voters cast a ballot, up 0.5 points on 1980.

  • Social Democratic Party of Germany 193 −25 seats 38.2% −4.7 points
  • Christian Democratic Union of Germany 191 +17 seats 38.2% +4.0 points
  • Christian Social Union in Bavaria 53 +1 seat 10.6% +0.3 points
  • Free Democratic Party 34 −19 seats 7.0% −3.6 points
  • Alliance 90/The Greens 27 +27 seats 5.6% +4.1 points
  • National Democratic Party 0 0.2%
  • 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 1980 federal election, party by party.

250 of 498 seats make a majority

Key numbers

  1. 48.8%

    Combined share of the vote of CDU/CSU

    CDU/CSU won 244 of 498 seats. A majority needs 250.

  2. +27 seats

    Seats gained by Alliance 90/The Greens

    The largest gain in seats compared with 1980. Social Democratic Party of Germany lost 25 seats.

  3. 89.1%

    Voter turnout

    Up 0.5 points on 1980.

Seats and votes by party

PartySeats± seats%± pointsVotes
Social Democratic Party of Germany193−2538.2−4.714,865,807
Christian Democratic Union of Germany191+1738.2+4.014,857,680
Christian Social Union in Bavaria53+110.6+0.34,140,865
Free Democratic Party34−197.0−3.62,706,942
Alliance 90/The Greens27+275.6+4.12,167,431
National Democratic Party00.291,095

± is the change against the Germany 1980 federal election, party by party.

Votes by party
  • Social Democratic Party of Germany 14,865,807
  • Christian Democratic Union of Germany 14,857,680
  • Christian Social Union in Bavaria 4,140,865
  • Free Democratic Party 2,706,942
  • Alliance 90/The Greens 2,167,431
  • National Democratic Party 91,095

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?

89.1% of the 44,088,935 registered voters cast a ballot (39,279,529 ballots), up 0.5 points on 1980. 38,940,687 of them were valid votes.

How do the votes compare with the seats?

  • CDU/CSU48.8% of votes49.0% of seats
  • Social Democratic Party of Germany38.2% of votes38.8% of seats
  • Free Democratic Party7.0% of votes6.8% of seats
  • Alliance 90/The Greens5.6% of votes5.4% 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 2.6 by votes and 2.5 by seats; CDU/CSU led Social Democratic Party of Germany by 10.6 points of the vote.

Time and source Data as of