Germany's domestic intelligence service (BfV) said in its annual report that the number of far-right extremists rose to 58,700 last year, an increase of more than 8,000 from the previous year. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing BBC News.
Sinan Selen, head of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), said German democracy was under "practically permanent attack" from both inside and outside. Intelligence activities against Germany originated primarily from Russia, China and Iran, the report said.
Of the far-right extremists identified, 5,600 were estimated to have a propensity for violence. The agency said the increase was largely due to the growth of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, whose membership grew to 70,000 in 2025.
The AfD is due to hold its party conference in the eastern city of Erfurt this weekend, and Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt warned of potential violence during protests against the event. Protests must always remain non-violent, he said.
The AfD came second in federal elections last year, winning a record 152 seats in the 630-seat parliament with 20.8% of the vote. The party is polling at about 40% ahead of elections in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt in September, which could be enough for an overall majority, allowing it to form its first state-level government.
Far-right groups are increasingly focusing on influencing children and young people, recruiting new members at far-right music shows that also reached a record number last year, the BfV report said.
The AfD was designated as a far-right extremist group last year, but that classification was suspended in February after the party challenged the move in court. The German foreign ministry defended the decision, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called it "tyranny in disguise."
The BfV still lists the party as a "suspected extremist organization" and said: "Given the rising membership figures, it can be assumed that the pool of individuals with extremist leanings within the AfD has also expanded accordingly."
The report also identified around 26,000 far-right extremists from the "Reichsbürger" and "Selbstverwalter" groups, which "do not recognize the Federal Republic as a state; they reject our constitution, laws, and authorities, frequently propagating conspiracy ideologies and antisemitic narratives."
The number of individuals involved in left-wing extremism grew by 4,200 last year, reaching 42,200. Violence against suspected far-right extremists and police officers increased significantly. The number of individuals involved in Islamism or "Islamist terrorism" rose slightly to 28,645.