Statistics from the judicial system

Murder, manslaughter, and assault with a lethal outcome are usually jointly designated lethal violence. In 2025, 84 cases of lethal violence were confirmed in Sweden. The average of lethal violence for the last ten years (2016-2025) is 109 cases per year.

Lethal violence

In 2025, 84 cases of lethal violence were confirmed in Sweden. This can be seen from the statistics regarding confirmed cases of lethal violence. This is a decrease by 8 cases, as compared with 2024.

Since 2002, when Brå started producing the statistics, the level of confirmed cases of lethal violence has fluctuated between 68 and 124 cases. Up until 2012, the development of the number of cases was marked by an overall downward trend with relatively large variations from year to year. From 2015 until 2023, the number of cases has been at a higher level than in previous years. The outcome for 2024 broke that upward trend, and for the first time since 2014 the number of cases was below 100. The downward trend continued in 2025.

Sex

In 2025, the victim was a female in 25 cases (30 per cent) and a male in 59 cases (70 per cent). Compared to 2024, the number of female victims increased with 2 cases in 2025, while the number of male victims decreased by 10 cases.

In relation to the population, the number of confirmed cases of lethal violence was 0.8 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 2025, a lower level than in 2024 (0.9). The number of female victims per 100,000 female inhabitants was slight higher in 2025 (0.5) compared with 2024 (0.4), but the number of male victims per 100,000 male inhabitants was lower in 2025 (1.1) compared with 2024 (1.3).

Against someone in close relationship (partner or ex-partner)

In 13 cases of the confirmed cases of lethal violence in 2025, victims and perpetrators were related by a close relationship (partner or ex-partner), which accounted for 15 per cent of all cases of lethal violence. In 2024, the corresponding number was 13 cases (14 per cent).

The number of cases of lethal violence against women in a close relationship in 2025 amounted to 11 cases, which equals to 44 per cent of all cases of lethal violence with female victims during the year. The corresponding number for male victims in a close relationship in 2024 was 2 cases (3 per cent of all male victims).

Use of firearms

In 2025, firearms were used in 42 of the observed cases of lethal violence, 3 less than in 2024, which corresponded to 50 percent of all observed cases of lethal violence in 2025. Meanwhile, the number of cases of lethal violence without using firearms decreased with 5 cases, from 47 cases in 2024 to 42 cases in 2025.

In the cases where a firearm was used 2025, the victim was a male in 35 cases (83 per cent) and in 7 cases the victim was a female (11 per cent). The sex ratio for male victims in the cases where a firearm was used has been pending between 83 to 98 per cent, with an average of 92 per cent during the period 2016-2025.

Regional breakdown

A majority (44 cases, corresponded to 52 per cent) of the confirmed cases of lethal violence in 2025 were reported in one of the major metropolitan police regions of Stockholm, Väst and Syd. This level has fluctuated between 52 and 75 per cent during the years 2016-2025.

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All hate crime motives

Some of the 2,731 police reports were identified to include more than one hate crime motive, which resulted in 2,867 identified hate crime motives in total. Of these, xenophobic and racist hate crimes were most common (50 %), followed by hate crimes against religious groups (18 %) and LGBTQI-related hate crimes (13 %). Moreover, 20 percent of all hate crime motives were identified as unspecified. In these reports, it seems that a hate crime has been committed, but it is not possible to deduce the specific motive behind the reported offence. The distribution of hate crime motive categories is largely unchanged compared to 2020 and 2022, except for the proportion of antisemitic hate crimes, which has increased since 2020.

Molestation was the most common crime category among all hate crime motives, accounting for 23 percent of all offences with a hate crime motive. Agitation against a population group and property damage (often in the form of graffiti) were essentially on a par at 20 percent each, followed by defamation (14 %) and unlawful threats (11 %). The distribution between crime categories is similar to 2022.

The most common crime scene in the reports was a public place, representing 20 percent of the reports classified as hate crime. The school environment was also a relatively common crime scene, with about 19 percent of the reported hate crimes. Other common crime scenes were in digital environments and in or near the victim's home, at around 14 and 13 percent respectively. Since 2022, the proportion of police reports of hate crimes that had occurred at school has increased slightly, and the proportion that occurred in or near the victim's home has decreased slightly.

The statistics also report the modus operandi used in the hate crime. Some
sort of property damage or the spreading of messages with a hate crime
motive was the most common modus operandi among all hate crimes
(35 %). Verbal or other non-physical abuse was also a common modus
operandi for the hate crimes (31 %), while physical abuse or attacks were
seen in about 13 percent of the reports. Hate crimes via digital
environments, such as public posts and chats, accounted for 7 percent of the
reports. The distribution of modus operandi used in the hate crime was
similar for 2022.

The victim was a man in 33 percent of the reports and a woman in 26 percent. In 36 percent of the reports, no crime was committed against a natural person. These police reports largely concerned offences such as property damage and agitation against a population group. The distribution of the victim’s gender in hate crimes was similar for 2022.

The perpetrator was a man in 44 percent of the police reports and a woman in 13 percent. However, in 41 percent of the police reports, the perpetrator's gender was unknown, which is common in different types of property damage where there are no witnesses to the incident, such as in the case of graffiti. In both 2022 and 2024, men were the most common perpetrators among the hate crime reports.

About one tenth (11 %) of all police reports concerned hate crimes against a person who was working at the time of the incident. This included for example security guards, bus drivers and healthcare workers. The proportion is approximately at the same level as in 2022.

In reports where a physical person was the victim, the perpetrator was most commonly unknown to the victim (28 %). In 7 percent of the reports, the perpetrator was a neighbor or someone the victim knew only by name or sight. It was about equally common for the perpetrator to be a schoolmate (6 %). In cases where the victim was not a physical person, the relationship was deemed irrelevant to code. In 2024, this category accounted for 36 percent of all reports. This proportion has increased somewhat since 2020, when the corresponding figure was 26 percent. In other cases, as in previous years (2020 and 2022), the perpetrator was most commonly unknown to the victim (32 and 27 % respectively). The proportion of victims targeted by a schoolmate has increased from 3 percent in 2020 to 6 percent in 2024.

Xenophobic and racist hate crimes

Among the hate crime motives identified in 2024, 16 percent were Afrophobic, 1 percent antigypsy, less than 1 percent hate crimes against the Sami and 32 percent were categorized as other xenophobic and racist motives. The latter category included both general and unspecified xenophobic and racist hate crime motives, as well as hate crimes aimed at specific ethnicities and nationalities that were too few in number to be reported separately.

Just as in 2020 and 2022, the xenophobic and racist hate crimes had a varied crime structure. Molestation and defamation, although threats and violence were also relatively common. These hate crimes were most often committed in or near the victim's home or in school, as well as in public places. It was also common among xenophobic and racist hate crimes to be victimised in digital environments. The victim was most often a man, and most commonly subjected to some form of verbal or other non-physical abuse (such as a person states that they have been denied entry to a nightclub because of their origin). The perpetrator was often a man and, in many cases, unknown to the victim.

Among Afrophobic hate crimes 2024, defamation was the most common offence, differing from all other hate crime motives for which molestation was more common. The crime scene was most often in school environments, but also in public places, digital environments or near the victim's home. Being victimised at school was more common in Afrophobic hate crimes than in most other motives.

Hate crimes against religious groups

Among hate crimes against religious groups identified in 2024, 8 percent were antisemitic, 7 percent Islamophobic, and 1 percent Christophobic hate crimes. Other hate crimes against religious groups was identified in 2 percent of the police reports with an identified hate crime motive. The proportion of antisemitic hate crimes has increased since 2020 and is now about as common as Islamophobic hate crimes in 2024.

The antisemitic hate crimes largely comprised of agitation against a population group, which is not usually aimed at a specific individual, and property damage. Antisemitic hate crimes were usually committed in a public place, in digital or school environments.

Islamophobic hate crimes mostly involved molestation, which is different from the antisemitic hate crimes. The crime scene was often in digital environments or public places. Among the Islamophobic hate crimes, the largest proportion of victims were women, compared to the other hate crime motives

LGBTQI-related hate crimes

The LGBTQI-related hate crimes of 2024 included 7 percent homophobic hate crimes, 3 percent transphobic hate crimes and 3 percent other LGBTQI-related hate crimes. Among the LGBTQI-related hate crimes, the most common offence was molestation, unlawful threats and defamation. Hate crimes in digital environments, public places, or in or near the victim's home were also relatively common in the reports.

Among the homophobic hate crimes in 2024, molestation and defamation was the most common offence, and they were most often committed in public places or in digital environments. Physical attacks or insults were more common among the homophobic hate crimes, compared to the other hate crime motives.

The transphobic hate crimes 2024 differs in character in some respects from the homophobic hate crimes. Among the transphobic hate crimes, it was about as common with agitation against a population group as molestation. The most common crime scene was in digital environments, such as social media platforms. In contrast to homophobic hate crimes, it was most common for a woman to be the victim of transphobic hate crimes.

The other LGBTQI-related hate crimes were largely comprised of various forms of property damage (often in the form of graffiti) affecting LGBTQI-related events and organizations, as well as damage to Pride flags.

Regional distribution

Of the police reports classified as hate crimes in 2024, the greatest number was registered in Police Region Stockholm (29 %), followed by Police Region South and Police Region West (19 % each). However, when population size is considered, Police Region Stockholm had the most reports (32 per 100,000 inhabitants), followed by Police Region Bergslagen (29 per 100,000 inhabitants). This was followed by Police Regions South and West, which registered about 26 and 25 reports per 100,000 inhabitants respectively. The largest proportion of reported offences with an identified hate crime motive took place in or near major cities and urban centers.

Xenophobic and racist hate crimes comprised the most common motive across all police regions. It accounted for between 47 and 61 percent of all identified hate crime motives in the police reports classified as hate crimes by the police, within the respective region.

Publications

• Hate crimes reported to the police in 2024
• Hate crime in digital environments
• Processed hate crimes
• Self-reported exposure to hate crime

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• Hate crime – all motives xlsx, 13 kB.
• Xenophobic and racist hate crimes xlsx, 19 kB.
• Afrophobic hate crimes xlsx, 19 kB.
  
• Antisemitic hate crimes xlsx, 19 kB.
  
• Islamophobic hate crimes xlsx, 18 kB.
  
• LGBTQI-related hate crimes xlsx, 19 kB.
  
• Homophobic hate crimes xlsx, 19 kB.
  
• Transphobic hate crimes xlsx, 11 kB.

1,466,106 offences were processed in Sweden in 2025, which is 3 percent less than in 2024. Of the investigated offences 27% were person-based cleared during 2025, which is a similar rate to that of 2024. Of the total number of processed offences during the year, 13% were person-based cleared during 2025, which is 1 percentage point higher than 2024.

Processed offences 2025 pdf, 395 kB.

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The statistics of persons suspected of offences is based on the persons registered by Swedish Police, Swedish Custom and Swedish Prosecution Authority as suspected of offences. The statistics gives an overview of the number of people suspected of offences in Sweden, type of crime and how the persons are distributed by sex and age. The statistics do not include persons who have not reached the age of criminal responsibility (15 years).

Summary of the results 2024

In 2024, 210,479 persons were suspected of offences, which was 8 per cent higher than in 2023. In comparison with 2015, the total number of suspects has increased by 20 per cent in 2024.

Of the persons suspected of offences in 2024, 49,830 were women and 159,512 men, which gave a sex distribution of 24 per cent women and 76 per cent men. Compared with 2023, the number of women suspected of offences in 2023 increased by 10 per cent and the number of suspected men by 7 per cent. In comparison with 2015, the number of suspected women has increased by 36 per cent 2024, while the number of suspected men has increased by 16 per cent.

In 2024, 41 per cent of the persons suspected of offences were under the age of 30 at the time of the crime. Young people (15–20 years) accounted for 17 per cent of all suspects. An almost equal proportion (20%) were aged 50 or older. The largest proportion of suspects was found in the age range 30–49 years (40%). The age distribution was similar for suspect women and suspect men in 2024.

Of the persons suspected of offences in 2024, 33 per cent were suspected of crimes against persons, 29 per cent of drug offenses, 16 per cent of traffic offenses and 13 per cent of theft offenses. Smaller proportions, of 9 and 4 percent, respectively, were suspected of fraud and criminal damage. Compared with 2023, the number of suspects increased for crimes against persons, drug offenses and fraud in 2023. The number of suspects decreased for, theft and robbery offenses, criminal damage and traffic offenses compared with 2023.

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The statistics of processed offences linked to a suspect are based on offences and suspects registered and processed by Swedish Police, Swedish Customs and Swedish Prosecution Authority. A processed offence refers to an offence were a decision has been made which entails that the processing of the offence was completed. Offences with person-based clearances are processed offences where a conviction decision (a decision to indict, issue a summary sanction order, or waive prosecution) has been made.

The statistics give an overview of the number of processed offences linked to a suspect and are presented by type of offence, type of decision and sex and age of the suspected person. The statistics do not include processed offences linked to suspects under the age of criminal responsibility (15 years).

The statistics of processed offences linked to a suspect are new from 2016, but it is available annually from 2007.

Summary of the results 2024

During 2024, 576,083 offences linked to a suspect were processed, which is an increase of 31,844 (+6 %) in comparison with 2023. Since 2015, the number of processed offences linked to a suspect has increased by approximately 5 per cent. The most common crime category among the processed offences linked to a suspect in 2024, was Crimes against person, which constituted 26 per cent of the total. Other common offences were Crimes against the Narcotics Drugs Act (20 %), Theft and Robbery (9 %) and Crimes against the Road Traffic Offences Act (8%).

The number of processed offences linked to a suspect that resulted in a person-based clearance (a decision to indict, issue a summary sanction order, or waive prosecution) in 2024 was 200,073 (35 %), which constitutes an increase of 4,871 (+2 %) compared to 2023. Since 2015, the number has decreased by 20 per cent. The proportion of person-based clearances has decreased by 1 percentage point since 2023, and by 11 percentage point compared to 2015. The rest of the offences linked to a suspect have been subject either to an investigation limitation decision (14 %) or other types of decisions (52 %). The proportion of the offences linked to a suspect which was subject to investigation limitation decisions has increased since 2015, with 6 percentage point.

The majority (486 263,000 or 80 per cent) of the processed offences in 2024 were linked to a male suspect; this is a pattern which has been stable for the past ten years. Of the processed offences linked to a male suspect, 35 per cent has been processed with a person-based clearance; this proportion has decreased by 1 percentage points since 2023. Of the processed offences linked to a female suspect, 34 per cent were processed with person-based clearances, which has decreased by 1 percentage point since 2023.

Of the processed offences, 89,485 were linked to a suspect aged 15 to 20 years, which constitutes 16 per cent of all the processed offences linked to a suspect. The rest of the offences (484,951 or 84 per cent) were linked to persons aged 21 and over. About two out of five (38 %) of the offences linked to persons aged 15 to 20 years, were processed with person-based clearance in 2024. The corresponding proportion of person-based clearances for offenses linked to persons aged 21 and over was 34 per cent. The proportions have decreased over time, with 10 respective 11 percentage points compared to 2015.

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Statistics relating to persons convicted for criminal offences present those found guilty either by court (county court convictions) or by prosecutors (through prosecutor fines or waivers of prosecution).

In 2024, there were 115,820 so-called conviction decisions laid down by the courts or the prosecutors. This is a 2 percent increase compared to 2023.

Since 1975, the number of convictions has decreased by 63 percent. The greatest reduction came at the end of the 1970s in connection with the decriminalization of public drunkenness. Since then the trend has been more stable, but there has nonetheless been a continuous reduction in number of convictions. In part the reduction can be explained by the fact that over time the police have received extended authority to issue summary fines for a larger number of petty offences. These are presented separately in the conviction statistics. Part of the decrease, particularly between the years 1994—1996, can also be explained if viewed in relation to the fact that the number of cleared offences also fell during this period of time.

Crimes against the Narcotics Drugs Act constitute the most common offence type for which someone is convicted in 2024 and were the principal offence in 27 percent of all convictions. The second most common offence type is road traffic offences, which was the principal offence in 26 percent of the convictions in 2024.

Fines most common sanction

Fines issued either by the courts or the prosecutor is the most common form of sanction. In 2024, 58 percent of all convictions carried fines as the principal sanction. In addition, 386,311 summary fines were issued directly by the police.

In 2024, about 13 percent (14,992) of all convictions carried a prison sentence. The most common sentence length was of a maximum of two months (36 percent of all convictions carrying a prison sentence). About 2,765 sentences or 18 percent of the prison sentence carried a prison term of over two years, 44 of which carried a life sentence. In 2024,
224 youths were sentenced to youth custody, a sanction that since 1999 has largely replaced the use of prison for youths up to eighteen years of age.

A legislative change introduced 1 January 2007 led to the sanctions youth care and youth service, previously included under care of the social services, now having become separate sanctions. There were 3,217 youth care and youth service sentences in 2024. In 2021 another legislative change was introduced leading to the sanction youth surveillance. During 2024 there were 209 youth surveillance sentences.

Men and women accounted for 81 and 19 percent respectively of those found guilty of offences in 2024. Youths aged between fifteen and twenty made up approximately 17 percent of all convicted in 2024. In relation to the proportion of the population, youths are over-represented among those found guilty of offences compared to members of other age groups.

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Over the course of the year 2024 a total of 11,812 individuals were admitted to prison, which is an increase of 11 percent in comparison with 2023.

The number of inmates in prison service institutions (on 1 October) was 8,206 in 2023, which constitutes an increase of 17 percent in comparison with 2023. The level is now 91 percent higher than it was in 2015.

Of those admitted to prisons during the year 2024, 15 percent had been sentenced for theft offences. Around 12 percent had been sentenced for crimes against life and health, around 34 percent had been sentenced for drug offences and around 6 percent had been sentenced for road traffic offences. Assault offences dominated among the crimes against life and health and drinking under the influence dominated among the traffic offences.

The majority of those admitted to prisons are men. In 2024, men accounted for approximately 91 percent of the total number of prison inmates. The proportion of inmates comprised of women has been relatively stable over the last ten years.

Around 12 percent of those admitted to prison in 2024 were aged 50 or older. 45 percent were aged between 30 and 49, 37percent were aged between 21 and 29. Youths aged between 15 and 20 accounted for 5 percent of admissions in 2024. Looking instead at those admitted to prison per 100,000 of population in the respective age groups, the distribution is different. On this basis, the dominant age group comprises persons aged 21 to 29 years, with 348 prison admissions per 100,000 of population, as compared with 97 admissions per 100,000 of population among those aged 15 to 20 years.

There were approximately 3,470 individuals placed in remand centres on average per day 2024. Of these, 88 percent were under detention awaiting trial or during ongoing criminal investigations.

Approximately 1,830 individuals served their prison sentence by means of intensive electronic supervision in 2024, which constitutes an increase of 1 percent in comparison with 2023.

In 2024 a total of 11,978 persons entered the supervision of the probation service. This represents an increase of 4 percent by comparison with the figure for 2023.

A total of 7,363 persons were conditionally discharged during 2024.

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Forty-one percent of all persons with an initial event¹ in 2018 relapsed into crime within three years. The percentage that relapsed among women was 30 percent and 43 percent among men. The statistics show minor changes over time.

Eighteen percent of all persons with an initial event where women and 82 percent men.

Among those with nine or more previous adjudications the median number of relapses into crime per person was 6.1 crimes lower in comparison with 2009.

The risk of relapsing into crime clearly increases with the number of previous adjudications². Ninety-two percent among those with nine or more previous adjudications relapsed into crime within three years. Among those without any previous adjudication 23 percent relapsed into crime within three years.

The median number of days to the first relapse into crime was eight months and three weeks (264 days). The median number of days for women was 291 and 260 for men.

It is common that a liberty depriving sanction in the initial event is followed by a liberty depriving sanction in the relapse event. Almost 50 percent had been deprived of liberty some time prior to the relapse event when previous adjudications 5 years before the initial event are included.

About the statistics

The recidivism statistics aim to give an overview of the level, structure and development of relapses into crime. The statistics also present measures such as time to first relapse.

The statistics is divided into to two products, one final and one preliminary recidivism statistics. The difference is the follow up time and the time for collection of conviction decisions that include relapses into crime. These time periods are three years each in the final statistics and one year each in the preliminary statistics. This gives the possibility to present more reliable final statistics compared to the preliminary statistics.

¹) An initial event is a release from prison, discharge from closed institutional youth care, discharge from forensic psychiatric care, completed intensive supervision with electronic monitoring or court sentencing with legal force or conviction decisions with other sanctions.

²) Previous adjudications mean court sentencing with legal force or conviction decisions 5 years before the initial event.

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