Germany's Social Democratic Party has been leading in the polls for more than a month ahead of parliamentary elections on September 26.

       Their success in the polls surprised many analysts after the party appeared less popular than the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Greens over the past year.

       The Greens had a slight surge in the spring as parties began to name their chancellor candidates, but are now polling behind the CDU and SPD.

       A total of 40 political parties are presenting candidate lists in the race, there are several main parties that are likely to enter the Bundestag.

       Here's a look at how they are polling:

       A Flourish chart

       Current polling also suggests that a government coalition could need three parties instead of two, which would be a first in Germany.

       The Free Democrats and Alternative for Germany (AfD), meanwhile, have been polling at around 11%, according to the latest Infratest dimap poll in mid-September.

       The far-left Die Linke was at around 6%, below their score in the 2017 election, according to the latest poll.