It's no coincidence that the expression "German angst" is used to describe a certain sense of anguish, anxiety or fear: Germans are especially good at worrying. A new study by the Allensbach polling institute conducted for the Social Democrats in the Bundestag shows that Germans feel pretty secure economically - and yet have a pessimistic, anxious view of the future.

"Material satisfaction is growing," Spiegel Online writes, "but optimism concerning the future has dramatically decreased."

The perception of personal economic situations is more positive in 2016 than it has been in a long time. According to the Allensbach Institute, 54 percent of Germans say their economic situation is good or even very good. Only 9 percent perceive their situation as bad. Less than 20 percent of Germans worry about their jobs. Enough money, job security - sounds great, right?

Wrong.

Only 36 percent of the 1,431 people Allensbach polled are hopeful and optimistic about what the next year has in store for them. According to Spiegel Online, the last time so many people had a bleak outlook on life was at the start of the financial crisis in 2008. Before that, it was right after 9/11.

No. 1 fear

Thomas Feltes has one possible explanation for the chasm between perceived economic security and fear about the future. Feltes is professor of criminology and police science at the University of Bochum and told public broadcaster "Deutschlandfunk" that the seemingly counter-intuitive development actually makes sense.

The better off people are, the more they fear that something could happen to them or their possessions - "and many people in our society are indeed doing better today than they were in the past," Feltes said.

According to Allensbach's numbers, Germans really are most worried about their physical safety and that of their belongings. 84 percent of respondents are worried about the perceived increase in violence and crime in their society. This fear has grown substantially over the last few years. When asked in a different Allensbach poll whether they were scared of personally falling victim to a crime, 64 percent of respondents said yes in 2016. In 2011, this number was as low as 29 percent.

Terrorism comes in as a close second on the list of things that Germans worry about. Respondents were asked to check what scares them out of a long list of potential threats, and 74 percent marked terrorist attacks.

Danger of toasters

Some of these people might be afraid of crowds and public places and prefer to stay home, instead of going to a concert or an exhibition. Bad move.

"We criminologists know that your own home is the most unsafe place there is," Feltes said.

After all, most accidents happen at home. It's much more likely to be burnt by a malfunctioning toaster or knocked out by a collapsing bookshelf than to be killed in a terrorist attack. And yet, household appliances didn't make the list of Germans' biggest worries.

Uncertain times

Terrorist attacks with numerous victims have dramatic effects, of course, and deeply shake many people's beliefs in society. The high frequency of attacks and the heavy coverage in the media recently is probably one reason why so many respondents say they feel these are especially uncertain times.

In 2011, only 44 percent said they were doing well economically - a much lower number than in 2016. But people felt more secure back then as well. Only 44 percent of respondents in an Allensbach poll said they felt their times were especially uncertain. By 2016, that number had grown to 58 percent.

One potential factor contributing to those vaguely uncertain times: the huge number of immigrants coming to Germany. The increase in refugees takes third place in the list of things Germans are anxious about, with almost three quarters of respondents marking it as one of their top concerns.