Majority of Germans Prefer Character over Wealth in Partner

File photo: Tourists take pictures of themselves at the Berlin Wall. Wolfgang Kumm/AFP
File photo: Tourists take pictures of themselves at the Berlin Wall. Wolfgang Kumm/AFP
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Majority of Germans Prefer Character over Wealth in Partner

File photo: Tourists take pictures of themselves at the Berlin Wall. Wolfgang Kumm/AFP
File photo: Tourists take pictures of themselves at the Berlin Wall. Wolfgang Kumm/AFP

A new survey revealed that character is one of the most important factors that the majority of Germans take into consideration when choosing their partners.

The survey’s results showed that character topped the list of factors sought by 56 percent of women and 51 percent of men when choosing a life partner.

The survey asked the participants to arrange six traits from most to least important when choosing a life partner. The proposed characteristics were: character, sense of humor, intelligence, common interests, physical appearance, and wealth.

According to the survey, the importance of sense of humor significantly differed between both genders. It was the most important trait to look for in the partner for 17 percent of women, and 11 percent of men.

As per physical appearance, it ranked first among 7 percent of women, and 17 percent of men, while both sexes agreed that wealth was the least important feature when choosing a partner.

The survey, which was conducted by the YouGov Institute, ran from July 23 to August 30, and polled more than 2,000 Germans over 18 years old.

The institute conducted the survey in 19 other countries, founding that character is one of the most important qualities that women seek when choosing a life partner. This characteristic was of great importance to women in the Scandinavian countries: Sweden, Denmark and Norway, 73 percent, 69 percent, and 66 percent respectively.

Character and physical appearance came in the same rank, as the most sought after trait when looking for a life partner among men in Indonesia (35 percent). Overall, the survey showed that men who see appearance as one of the most important traits is greater in all countries where women named appearance as the most important characteristic when choosing a partner.

In general, appearance plays an important role in choosing a life partner. Previous studies have shown that women feel strongly attracted to men who resemble their fathers, while men had affinity for women who resemble their mothers.



Spain Battles 20 Major Wildfires amid Scorching Heat, Deploys More Troops

Locals collaborate to extinguish a forest fire in Carballeda de Avia, Ourense, Galicia province, north-western Spain, 16 August 2025. (EPA)
Locals collaborate to extinguish a forest fire in Carballeda de Avia, Ourense, Galicia province, north-western Spain, 16 August 2025. (EPA)
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Spain Battles 20 Major Wildfires amid Scorching Heat, Deploys More Troops

Locals collaborate to extinguish a forest fire in Carballeda de Avia, Ourense, Galicia province, north-western Spain, 16 August 2025. (EPA)
Locals collaborate to extinguish a forest fire in Carballeda de Avia, Ourense, Galicia province, north-western Spain, 16 August 2025. (EPA)

Scorching heat hampered efforts to contain 20 major wildfires across Spain on Sunday, prompting the government to deploy an additional 500 troops from the military emergency unit to support firefighting operations.

In the northwestern region of Galicia, several fires have converged to form a large blaze, forcing the closure of highways and rail services to the region.

Southern Europe is experiencing one of its worst wildfire seasons in two decades, with Spain among the hardest-hit countries.

In the past week alone, fires there have claimed three lives and burned more than 115,000 hectares, while neighboring Portugal also battles widespread blazes.

Temperatures are expected to reach up to 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit) in some areas on Sunday, Spanish national weather agency AEMET said.

"There are still some challenging days ahead and, unfortunately, the weather is not on our side," Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told a news conference in Ourense, one of the most affected areas.

He announced an increase in military reinforcements, bringing the total number of troops deployed across Spain to 1,900.

Virginia Barcones, director general of emergency services, told Spanish public TV temperatures were expected to drop from Tuesday, but for now the weather conditions were "very adverse".

"Today there are extremely high temperatures with an extreme risk of fires, which complicates the firefighting efforts," Barcones said.

VILLAGERS RESORT TO BUCKETS

In the village of Villardevos in Galicia, desperate neighbors have organized to fight the flames on their own with water buckets as the area was left without electricity to power water pumps.

"The fireplanes come in from all sides, but they don't come here," Basilio Rodriguez, a resident, told Reuters on Saturday.

Added Lorea Pascual, another local resident: "It's insurmountable, it couldn't be worse".

Interior ministry data show 27 people have been arrested and 92 were under investigation for suspected arson since June.

In neighboring Portugal, wildfires have burnt some 155,000 hectares of vegetation so far this year, according to provisional data from the ICNF forestry protection institute - three times the average for this period between 2006 to 2024. About half of that area burned just in the past three days.

Thousands of firefighters were battling eight large blazes in central and northern Portugal, the largest of them near Piodao, a scenic, mountainous area popular with tourists.

Another blaze in Trancoso, further north, has now been raging for eight days. A smaller fire a few miles east claimed a local resident's life on Friday - the first this season.