Approval rating of German Chancellor Angela Merkel has increased to 60%, reaching the highest mark since September 2015, RIA Novosti reported.

Merkel’s approval rating has gone up five percentage points, while leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) Martin Schulz has lost three percentage points, now having a rating of 52 %, the ARD-DeutschlandTrend survey showed on Thursday.

In September 2015, Merkel’s approval rating was 63 %.

Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble enjoys the highest rating among German politicians – 65%. Overall, 44% of those surveyed are satisfied with the work of the federal government, which is a 4-percent drop as compared to last month.

The ARD-DeutschlandTrend survey was conducted on March 6-8 among 1,002 people.

General elections in Germany are due to be held on September 24, 2017.