The crime rate in Sweden was around 15,000 per 100,000 inhabitants from 2010 to 2020. However it fell in both 2021 and 2022. The total number of crimes also decreased in 2021.

Increased use of firearms

While Sweden usually is perceived as a peaceful country to live in, it has received unwanted attention in recent years for increasing gang violence and incidents involving the use of firearms. In 2022, the country recorded its highest number of shootings and its highest number of fatal-shootings.

The perpetrators

A high majority of the crime suspects in Sweden are men. In 2021, more than three in four crime suspects were men. In terms of age, 30-49-year-olds made up the highest share of suspects.

This is a dataset on reported swedish crime statistics from 1950 to 2023 taken from https://bra.se/bra-in-english/home/crime-and-statistics/crime-statistics.html

The dataset includes - Total number of crimes - Life and Death crimes - Murder, Manslaughter and lethal assault - Assault/Aggravated Assult - Sexual Offences - Rape, Aggravated Rape - Theft, Robbery, Stealing - Burglary not involving firearm - Burglary in flats, Private Houses - Vehicle theft - Theft out of a motor vehicle - Theft from shops, Department stores etc. - Robbery, Aggravated robbery - Fraud and other acts of dishonesty - Criminal Damage - Narcotics - Driving under the influence

Things to consider:

1 Statistic figures on reported completed murder and manslaughter are higher than the actual number of murder and manslaughter.

2 Year 1950-1984 also including "sexual violation".

3 Year 1965-1967 also including burglary involving fire arms, ammunition and explosives.

4 Including crimes against the Narcotics Regulation year 1950-1983. From 1 July 1983 crimes against the Narcotics Regulation is covered by the Narcotics Drugs (Penal) Act section 5a.

5 Since 1 July 1999 also including driving under the influence of illicit drugs.

6 Four cases of embezzlement reported in 1996 covered appx 24'500 offences.

7 Statistics on crimes against creditors (Penal code ch. 11) and tax crimes are incomplete year 1998 and 1999 due incomplete reporting to Brå.

8 Data for year 1999 and 2000 may have been affected by a system change in year 1999/2000.

9 Excluding data where crime is uncategorized. These data were removed from the statistics from year 2003.

In 2022, there was a reduction in theft crimes by 11 percent compared to 10 years ago. On the other hand, the number of property damage cases increased by five percent and fraud crimes by three percent. In 2022, around 1.5 million crimes were committed in Sweden.

Types of crime

The most common crime in Sweden in 2022 was theft crime, which accounted for 27 percent of all crimes. Crimes against people was the second largest type of crime, which accounted for 20 percent of all crimes. On the other hand, traffic crimes made up only five percent of the crimes committed in Sweden that year.

 Theft crimes

While theft crimes made up the largest share of reported crimes, only one percent reported to have been victims of thefts in Sweden. On the other hand, eight percent reported to have been threatened at some point.

The number of homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in Sweden fluctuated over the past 20 years, but was usually around one. It was at its lowest in 2012, when 0.71 homicides per 100,000 inhabitant were registered, and at its highest in 2007 and 2020, reaching 1.2. In 2023, the homicide rate stood at 1.15. That year, 124 homicides were reported in Sweden.

Historical dataset showing Sweden crime rate per 100K population by year from 1990 to 2021.

The number of reported violent crimes in Sweden increased from 2014 to 2021, before falling slightly in 2022 and 2023. Overall, **** million crimes were reported in Sweden in 2023.

Context

Swedish crime statistics from 1950 to 2015

Content

This data set contains statistics on reported crimes in Sweden (by 100.000) from 1950 to 2015. It contains the following columns:

1. crimes.total: total number of reported crimes
2. crimes.penal.code: total number of reported crimes against the criminal code
3. crimes.person: total number of reported crimes against a person
4. murder: total number of reported murder
5. sexual.offences: total number of reported sexual offences
6. rape: total number of reported rapes
7. assault: total number of reported aggravated assaults
8. stealing.general: total number of reported crimes involving stealing or robbery
9. robbery: total number of reported armed robberies
10. burglary: total number of reported armed burglaries
11. vehicle.theft: total number of reported vehicle thefts
12. house.theft: total number of reported theft inside a house
13. shop.theft: total number of reported theft inside a shop
14. out.of.vehicle.theft: total number of reported theft from a vehicle
15. criminal.damage: total number of reported criminal damages
16. other.penal.crimes: number of other penal crime offenses
17. fraud: total number of reported frauds
18. narcotics: total number of reported narcotics abuses
19. drunk.driving: total number of reported drunk driving incidents
20. Year: the year
21. population: the total estimated population of Sweden at the time

Acknowledgements

Raw data taken from: https://www.bra.se/bra/bra-in-english/home/crime-and-statistics/crime-statistics.html

Sweden - Population reporting occurrence of crime, violence or vandalism in their area was 9.40% in December of 2023, according to the EUROSTAT. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Sweden - Population reporting occurrence of crime, violence or vandalism in their area - last updated from the EUROSTAT on October of 2025. Historically, Sweden - Population reporting occurrence of crime, violence or vandalism in their area reached a record high of 14.40% in December of 2018 and a record low of 9.40% in December of 2023.

In 2023, there were almost ****** men suspected of crimes against another person. Comparably, around ****** women were suspected of the same crime. Moreover, around ***** women were suspected of narcotics offenses, compared to nearly ****** men.

The region with highest number of homicides in Sweden in 2022 was the region of Stockholm, where 38 deaths by homicide were registered. Region South ranked second by number of homicides, with Region West following in third. The lowest number of homicides were recorded in the Northern Region and Region Bergslagen. The number of homicides in Sweden was roughly the same in 2021 as in 2022.

Sweden has witnessed an increase in the rates of sexual crimes including rape. Knowledge of who the offenders of these crimes are is therefore of importance for prevention. We aimed to study characteristics of individuals convicted of rape, aggravated rape, attempted rape or attempted aggravated rape (abbreviated rape+), against a woman ≥18 years of age, in Sweden. By using information from the Swedish Crime Register, offenders between 15 and 60 years old convicted of rape+ between 2000 and 2015 were included. Information on substance use disorders, previous criminality and psychiatric disorders were retrieved from Swedish population-based registers, and Latent Class Analysis (LCA) was used to identify classes of rape+ offenders. A total of 3 039 offenders were included in the analysis. A majority of them were immigrants (n = 1 800; 59.2%) of which a majority (n = 1 451; 47.7%) were born outside of Sweden. The LCA identified two classes: Class A — low offending class (LOC), and Class B — high offending class (HOC). While offenders in the LOC had low rates of previous criminality, psychiatric disorders and substance use disorders, those included in the HOC had high rates of previous criminality, psychiatric disorders and substance use disorders. While HOC may be composed by more “traditional” criminals probably known by the police, the LOC may represent individuals not previously known by the police. These two separated classes, as well as our finding in regard to a majority of the offenders being immigrants, warrants further studies that take into account the contextual characteristics among these offenders. Key pointsRape, aggravated rape, attempted rape or attempted aggravated rape (rape+) are increasing in Sweden.The majority of those convicted of rape+ are immigrants.LCA identifies two classes of rape+ offenders: LOC and HOC. Rape, aggravated rape, attempted rape or attempted aggravated rape (rape+) are increasing in Sweden. The majority of those convicted of rape+ are immigrants. LCA identifies two classes of rape+ offenders: LOC and HOC.

Historical dataset showing Sweden murder/homicide rate per 100K population by year from 1990 to 2021.

Deviation from the model-calculated value for reported violent crimes. The deviation is graded as follows:

Fewer than = 2

Equal to = 1

More than = 0

The model calculation is based on various structural factors in the municipality. The model result is compared with the indicator showing reported violent crimes. The data has been retrieved from the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention’s (Brå) official crime statistics and reflects crime based on offenses reported to and processed by the police, customs, prosecutors, courts, and correctional services. Crimes that are not reported are therefore not included in the crime statistics. Crimes that occurred earlier but were reported during the reference year are included in the statistics, as well as crimes reported in Sweden but committed abroad. To a lesser extent, reported incidents that later turn out not to be crimes are also included. The category of violent crimes includes murder, manslaughter, infanticide, assault with and without fatal outcome, rape including aggravated rape, aggravated violation of integrity, aggravated violation of a woman’s integrity, violence against an officer, as well as robbery including aggravated robbery. The number of reported crimes has then been adjusted with population data from Statistics Sweden (SCB) for each municipality. Three-year average (year T-2 to year T). Data retrieved from Kolada. The source is MSB – Myndigheten för samhällsskydd och beredskap.

IntroductionWhile there has been a reduction in specific homicide categories in Sweden, the last decade has witnessed an increase in the overall rate. The escalation is predominantly linked to heightened gun violence associated with criminal gangs. As a result, Sweden faces an extreme rate of shootings and firearm-related homicides, constituting one of the most severe instances across Europe. However, comprehensive scientific studies on this phenomenon are lacking. This paper presents the design of the Violent Crimes in Skåne (ViCS) project, which aims to investigate violent crimes requiring hospitalization or causing death in Sweden’s region Skåne from a medical, forensic, and criminological perspective. The project aims to examine the epidemiology and trends of violent crimes, injury profiles, treatments, patient outcomes, causes of death, and victim demographics.Methods and analysisUsing a retrospective cross-sectional design, ViCS will examine trauma by violent crimes from 2000 to 2019. Data will be sourced from several institutions, including hospital records from nine emergency hospitals, and the National Board of Forensic Medicine Agency. The project aims to study medical and criminological aspects of violent crimes, primarily focusing on assaults involving firearms, sharp weapons, blunt instruments, kicks, punches, and other types of assault like strangulation. Data analysis will involve descriptive and inferential statistics.DiscussionViCS aims to contribute to the limited body of knowledge about victims of violent crimes in Sweden. The findings may inform evidence-based interventions in medical, forensic, and criminological fields, potentially enabling targeted prevention strategies and improvements in emergency care for victims.

Sweden SE: Intentional Homicides: per 100,000 People data was reported at 1.078 Ratio in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 1.147 Ratio for 2015. Sweden SE: Intentional Homicides: per 100,000 People data is updated yearly, averaging 0.999 Ratio from Jun 1995 to 2016, with 22 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.211 Ratio in 2007 and a record low of 0.713 Ratio in 2012. Sweden SE: Intentional Homicides: per 100,000 People data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Sweden – Table SE.World Bank.WDI: Health Statistics. Intentional homicides are estimates of unlawful homicides purposely inflicted as a result of domestic disputes, interpersonal violence, violent conflicts over land resources, intergang violence over turf or control, and predatory violence and killing by armed groups. Intentional homicide does not include all intentional killing; the difference is usually in the organization of the killing. Individuals or small groups usually commit homicide, whereas killing in armed conflict is usually committed by fairly cohesive groups of up to several hundred members and is thus usually excluded.; ; UN Office on Drugs and Crime's International Homicide Statistics database.; Weighted average;

Sweden - Population reporting occurrence of crime, violence or vandalism in their area: Below 60% of median equivalised income was 10.90% in December of 2023, according to the EUROSTAT. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Sweden - Population reporting occurrence of crime, violence or vandalism in their area: Below 60% of median equivalised income - last updated from the EUROSTAT on December of 2025. Historically, Sweden - Population reporting occurrence of crime, violence or vandalism in their area: Below 60% of median equivalised income reached a record high of 19.40% in December of 2011 and a record low of 10.90% in December of 2023.

Sweden SE: Intentional Homicides: Female: per 100,000 Female data was reported at 0.590 Ratio in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 0.594 Ratio for 2015. Sweden SE: Intentional Homicides: Female: per 100,000 Female data is updated yearly, averaging 0.597 Ratio from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2016, with 17 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 0.896 Ratio in 2004 and a record low of 0.446 Ratio in 2012. Sweden SE: Intentional Homicides: Female: per 100,000 Female data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Sweden – Table SE.World Bank: Health Statistics. Intentional homicides, female are estimates of unlawful female homicides purposely inflicted as a result of domestic disputes, interpersonal violence, violent conflicts over land resources, intergang violence over turf or control, and predatory violence and killing by armed groups. Intentional homicide does not include all intentional killing; the difference is usually in the organization of the killing. Individuals or small groups usually commit homicide, whereas killing in armed conflict is usually committed by fairly cohesive groups of up to several hundred members and is thus usually excluded.; ; UN Office on Drugs and Crime's International Homicide Statistics database.; ;

More than half of students admit to committing crime during the past 12 months. Each documented year, almost ** percent state that they have participated in theft.

In 2022, threats was the type of crime reported by the highest share of both women and men in Sweden, with 7.6 and 8.0 percent, respectively. Moreover, except for harassment and sexual assault, the share of self-reported crimes was highest among men for each type of crime. Nearly eight percent of women in Sweden reported that they were victims of sexual abuse, compared to only one percent of men.

Selection of time series of different scientific publications and of publication of the official statistics:

EUROSTAT, European Statistical Office OECD: Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development; ONS: Office for National Statistics, England; SCB: Statistiska Centralbyran, Sweden; Federal Statistical Office, Wiesbaden. Deutschland; WHO: World Health Organization.