Stuttgart, September 25, 2025 – Nearly half of the population in Baden-Württemberg (47 percent) currently feel politically unrepresented. This is the finding of newly released regional data from the 2025 Diversity Barometer by the Robert Bosch Stiftung. Presented ahead of the Robert Bosch Forum in Stuttgart, the results point to a significant trust deficit: one in two respondents in Southwest Germany express low confidence in the federal government. Only a quarter believe that politics is equipped to tackle future challenges. Furthermore, 55 percent doubt that genuine freedom of expression exists in Germany.
The representative survey paints a nuanced picture of the public mood in Baden-Württemberg. A key insight: support for social diversity is declining, while polarization is on the rise. Compared to other federal states, Baden-Württemberg ranks only in the lower mid-range. The drop in acceptance is particularly stark in areas such as ethnic origin (58 points, down from 74 in 2019), sexual orientation (66 points, down from 76), religion (35 points, down from 44), and socioeconomic disadvantage (50 points, down from 59). In contrast, acceptance of gender diversity has increased (72 points, up from 67).
Foundation Projects Show: Encounters and Dialogue Foster Acceptance
"The positions among citizens are becoming increasingly entrenched, and the space for mutual understanding is shrinking,” says Dr. Bernhard Straub, CEO of the Robert Bosch Stiftung GmbH. “As a foundation, we see it as our responsibility to actively counteract societal fragmentation – through encounters, dialogue, and shared learning. The Diversity Barometer also shows: people are significantly more open toward other groups when they have had personal contact. This is precisely where our support efforts begin.”
Under its 2025 thematic focus “Our Democracy Depends on Us,” the foundation supports numerous initiatives aimed at strengthening trust in politics, promoting media and information literacy among children and youth, and fostering encounters across social divides. These include:
- Hello Bundestag, a project launched in 2021 that connects randomly selected citizens with their Members of Parliament for personal exchanges on societal issues – now expanding to Baden-Württemberg.
- #usethenews, an initiative dedicated to enhancing news and information literacy among young people.
- Everyday spaces, a nationwide project that brings democracy initiatives to everyday places where people naturally gather – such as the Diakonie store in Esslingen.
Democracy also takes center stage at this year’s Robert Bosch Forum, where the foundation welcomes over 100 representatives from politics, business, and civil society on the evening of September 25. Guest speakers include State Parliament President Muhterem Aras, Minister of Education Theresa Schopper, SWR Director General Kai Gniffke, WELT Deputy Editor-in-Chief Robin Alexander, constitutional law expert Maximilian Steinbeis, and musician Sebastian Krumbiegel.
About the Diversity Barometer
The Diversity Barometer by the Robert Bosch Stiftung is a representative survey on social cohesion in Germany. It measures attitudes toward seven dimensions of diversity – including age, disability, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic disadvantage, ethnic origin, and religion – and compiles the results into an overall Diversity Index. For the 2025 edition, 4,761 German-speaking individuals aged 16 and older were surveyed online between May 2 and June 3, including 518 respondents from Baden-Württemberg.
The study was designed and analyzed by the research team at Constructor University Bremen on behalf of the Robert Bosch Stiftung.
About the Robert Bosch Stiftung
The Robert Bosch Stiftung is active in the areas of health, education, and global issues. Through its funding, the Foundation works for a just and sustainable future. It is non-profit, independent and non-partisan and is rooted in the legacy of Robert Bosch. In his legacy, the entrepreneur and founder formulated the dual mission of securing the company's future and continuing his social commitment. The Robert Bosch Stiftung GmbH maintains its own facilities, develops innovative projects, and provides support at both the international and local level. The Foundation contributes findings from these projects to the professional world and public debate.
The Foundation holds around 94 percent of the shares in Robert Bosch GmbH and is financed by dividends. The company and the Foundation are independent of each other. Since its establishment in 1964, the Robert Bosch Stiftung has contributed more than 2,5 billion euros to its charitable work.
