Key Takeaways
- Germany’s top 10 individual crime categories combined account for 3,216,713 cases in 2025. That is 58.39% of all offenses recorded nationwide.
- Fraud ranks as Germany’s most recorded individual crime category. Police registered 681,354 cases in 2025. That is 12.37% of all offenses recorded nationwide.
- Domestic fraud cases fell 8.4% in 2025. Fraud committed from abroad rose 7.0% over the same period.
- Theft splits across four separate entries in the top 10 crime categories: shop theft, other simple theft, bicycle theft, and theft from vehicles.
- A broad catch-all category for other Criminal Code offenses adds 900,278 cases in 2025. That is 16.34% of all offenses recorded nationwide. It groups many unrelated offense types rather than representing a single crime.
Most Common Individual Crime Categories in Germany
| Rank | Crime Category | No. of Cases | % Share of All Cases |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fraud | 681,354 | 12.37% |
| 2 | Bodily injury | 617,257 | 11.21% |
| 3 | Theft from shops | 379,475 | 6.89% |
| 4 | Other simple theft | 308,937 | 5.61% |
| 5 | Offences against personal freedom | 305,732 | 5.55% |
| 6 | Other supplementary criminal law offences | 275,110 | 4.99% |
| 7 | Resistance to or assault on public officials | 192,501 | 3.49% |
| 8 | Drug offences | 164,991 | 3.00% |
| 9 | Serious theft of bicycles | 162,668 | 2.95% |
| 10 | Simple theft from or in motor vehicles | 128,688 | 2.34% |
Source: Bundeskriminalamt, Polizeiliche Kriminalstatistik
Each row represents a single classification entry from the source’s offense catalogue, not a combined total of multiple entries. Cases reflect offenses known to police, not convictions.
Germany recorded 5,508,559 criminal offenses in 2025. That is a 5.6% decline from the year before. Police closed 57.9% of cases nationwide in 2025.
Fraud is now Germany’s most recorded individual crime category. It accounted for 681,354 cases in 2025. That is 12.37% of all offenses recorded nationwide. National crime data show a shift in that number.
- Domestically registered fraud cases fell 8.4% compared to 2024.
- Fraud committed from abroad rose 7.0% over the same period.
The two trends are now converging. Foreign-based cases are closing in on the domestic total. This shift reflects a broader pattern in Germany’s crime data toward offenses that are more digital and more international.
Bodily injury ranks second among individual crime categories. Bodily injury is the broad classification for crimes that physically harm another person, covering everything from minor injuries to serious assault. It ranks second among individual crime categories. Police recorded 617,257 cases in 2025.
Theft Splits Into Four Separate Categories Instead of One
Theft splits across four separate entries in the top 10 crime categories.
- Theft from shops: 379,475 cases (6.89%)
- Other simple theft: 308,937 cases (5.61%)
- Serious theft of bicycles: 162,668 cases (2.95%)
- Simple theft from or in motor vehicles: 128,688 cases (2.34%)
Together, these four theft categories add up to 979,768 cases. That is 298,414 more than fraud alone.
A separate catch-all category for other Criminal Code offenses not classified individually adds 900,278 cases. That is 16.34% of all offenses recorded nationwide. It is more than any single category in the table. However, that is mainly because it bundles minor offenses without their own dedicated category. That includes cases such as insulting religious or political figures and breaches of confidentiality.
Even the ten largest individually classified offense types do not capture most of Germany’s recorded crime. A broad mix of smaller offenses, including drug violations, property damage, and document forgery, makes up the rest. Germany’s reported crime is spread widely, not concentrated in a few categories.
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