After seven years of growth, membership in the German Green Party declined for the first time in 2023 but is now showing a marked recovery, the party said in Berlin on Friday.
At the turn of the year, the number of members stood at 125,991, several hundred fewer than the 126,451 recorded at the same time last year.
The Greens are one of the three members of Germany's coalition government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
The party lost 9,591 members last year, either through deaths or resignations. Including new members, the total number of members fell minimally by 0.36%.
Since the beginning of the year, however, the Greens have seen a wave of new members. Party figures showed that they added more than 8,000 to their ranks.
The party's political director at the federal level, Emily Büning, spoke of the "strongest start to a year" in the party's history.
"We are over 130,000 Greens, more than ever before: That gives us an enormous tailwind and encourages us to keep reaching out. It also shows that many people are committed to democracy and want to resolutely oppose the AfD [Alternative for Germany] and other right-wing extremists."
The proportion of women in the Greens is now 42.5% and the average age is 48.9 years. According to the figures, the average age of new members in 2023 was 42.2 years.
