Crime fell on paper—but assault reports rose in Sweden

Sweden’s crime picture improved in 2025—but not in one neat, national way.

Police recorded 1,439,163 reported offences, about 50,000 fewer than in 2024. Theft drove much of the fall. Robberies also dropped by 21 percent, while Brå confirmed 84 cases of lethal violence, eight fewer than a year earlier and below 100 for the second year running.

But other offences moved in the opposite direction. Reported assaults rose 4 percent and sexual offences 5 percent. Sweden also recorded 42 cases of lethal violence involving firearms, half the total.

Even that does not settle the argument. Reported crime measures what reaches the authorities, not everything that happens. Reporting habits, police priorities and counting rules all influence the total. Sweden’s Crime Survey therefore asks people directly about victimisation. Its latest results show that 20 percent of people aged 16–84 experienced at least one offence against the person in 2024—a level that has been broadly stable since 2020.

So has crime gone down? Some of the most visible measures, including total reports, robbery and lethal violence, have. Yet assault reports rose and the broader victimisation picture barely moved. Anyone offering a single verdict on “crime” is collapsing several different realities into one statistic.

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