BERLIN, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Climate and environment protection as well as the immigration of refugees into Germany were the most important problems for Germans, a survey by opinion research institute Forsa found on Monday.

More than one third of the Germans surveyed labelled climate and environment protection as the largest problem in Germany, according to the survey conducted on behalf of the German media group RTL/n-tv.

A total of 42 percent of Germans aged between 18 and 29 years viewed climate and environment protection as the biggest problem in Germany.

When asked about the three biggest problems that Germany was currently facing, 29 percent surveyed chose "immigration and the integration of refugees".

The survey also revealed large regional differences among Germans in naming the problems.

While 36 percent of people living in eastern Germany believed refugees were the major problem, only 27 percent of those living in western Germany shared the view.

"There are significantly fewer refugees in east Germany than in the west," said Manfred Guellner, chairman of Forsa, adding that "the negative assessment of immigration can hardly be based on one's own experiences but on prejudices."

Supporters of the far-right party AfD which is particularly strong in eastern Germany widely believed that refugees were the biggest problem while only 28 percent named climate change as the main problem, the survey showed.

"The fact that so many AfD supporters, who also have largely no negative personal experiences with foreigners, see the refugee issue as Germany's biggest problem points to the general xenophobia of this group," said Guellner.

Only 25 percent of supporters of other political parties saw refugees as the main problem while 38 percent named climate change as the biggest issue in Germany. Enditem

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