Munich - Germans love to invite friends over for a party in the back yard.

A survey published in the July edition of a German home magazine shows that 71 per cent of the people surveyed enjoy throwing a garden party. The same percentage like being invited to garden parties given by friends or acquaintances, the survey showed.

The survey also showed that all neighbours are invited to 41 per cent of the garden parties. About one-third of the people surveyed invite friends over weekly during the warm summer months.

Twenty-five per cent of the survey participants said, however, that such parties are only fun if there are particular boundaries, such as finishing the party by 10 p. m. out of respect for the neighbours.

Some of the people surveyed were not big fans of garden parties. Nine per cent said they were annoying and one-third of the people questioned considered it an imposition in a multi-family house.

The opinion research institute Ipsos in Hamburg conducted the survey, which questioned 1,000 people over the age of 14. (dpa)