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Crime · Norway · Updated 2026-10-26

Is crime rising in Norway?

In SSB's statistics, offences reported to the police per 1,000 people fell by 8.4% between 2015 and 2025, and the police's own figures from the same register were broadly flat (-3.7%) between 2016 and 2025; reported violence and maltreatment offences rose by 35.3% over 2015-2025, and the share of people aged 16 and over who said they had been victims of violence or threats rose by 54.3% between the 2015 and 2023 surveys.

Every figure in this summary is calculated from the sources listed on this page.

Offences reported to the police per 1,000 people, 10-year direction

Change in the number of offences registered as reported to the police and prosecuting authority per 1,000 inhabitants. Norway, 2015 to 2025. Unit: % change.

Falling −8.4%% change, 2025

71Trust scoreModerate certainty

Only one source – not confirmed by others. Agreement can't be measured, so the score can't reach High.

Score breakdown

Quality40 / 40

How well the sources are made

Agreement15 / 30

Unknown with one source, so set to half

Independence6 / 20

How many separate ways the number was measured

Freshness10 / 10

How recent the newest data is

How much each source counts

  • SSB100%

Shown but not counted: Police (POD) (republishes Anmeldte lovbrudd og ofre (Offences and victims reported to the police)).

Sources

SourceValueDefinitionQualityWeight
Anmeldte lovbrudd og ofre (Offences and victims reported to the police)Statistics Norway (SSB) · Police and justice recordsRetrieved 2026-10-26Falling −8.4%2025
All offences registered as reported to the police and prosecuting authority during the year, per 1,000 inhabitants on 1 January: 68.0 in 2015 (351,459 offences) and 62.3 in 2025 (348,508).

Percent change calculated from SSB's published rates, which have one decimal. StatBank table 08484, 'All groups of offences'.

Counts offences by the year they were registered as reported, not the year they were committed. Traffic and customs offences settled with on-the-spot fines are excluded.

5 of 5 checks
  • Yes: Method and definitions published. SSB publishes definitions, the offence classification (Types of offences 2015) and methods under 'About the statistics'.
  • Yes: Official statistics or peer-reviewed. Official statistics produced by Statistics Norway.
  • Yes: Full count or representative sample. Full count of offences registered in the police case register during the year; offences never reported or registered are not included.
  • Yes: Raw data downloadable. Yearly counts and rates per 1,000 are downloadable from StatBank table 08484.
  • Yes: No known break or quality problem. SSB states that the population and offence definitions are the same before and after the Penal Code of 2005 took effect on 1 October 2015, and the data have been extracted the same way since 2002.
100%
Straffesaksbehandlingen i politiet 2025 (police case register, STRASAK)Norwegian Police Directorate and the Director of Public Prosecutions · Police and justice recordsRetrieved 2026-10-26Flat −3.7%2025
Offences reported per 1,000 inhabitants in the police's own operational statistics, taken from the police case register as it stood on 1 January after each year: 64.7 in 2016 (337,111 offences) and 62.3 in 2025 (348,534).

Measured from 2016, not 2015: no police report with a 2015 figure was found on the publishers' websites. POD-rapport 1/2026, Table 2.1 and footnote 5, report page 9.

Marked as a copy of the SSB line: both come from the same police case register (BL/STRASAK/PAL), so this is not an independent measurement and carries no weight. The police compile their own tables with a different extraction date and grouping, which is why the totals differ slightly (348,534 against SSB's 348,508 offences in 2025).

3 of 5 checks
  • Yes: Method and definitions published. The report describes its data source and method (section 1.1).
  • No: Official statistics or peer-reviewed. Operational statistics: the report says the police produce no official crime statistics and that SSB's figures undergo far more quality control.
  • Yes: Full count or representative sample. Covers all reports registered in the police case register.
  • No: Raw data downloadable. Published only as tables in a PDF report.
  • Yes: No known break or quality problem. No break in the national total is reported; the police's offence groups have differed from SSB's since the Penal Code of 2005.
Not counted
Offences reported to the police per 1,000 people, 10-year direction, by source · offences reported per 1,000 people
  • Anmeldte lovbrudd og ofre (Offences and victims reported to the police)
  • Straffesaksbehandlingen i politiet 2025 (police case register, STRASAK)
020406080201520172019202120232025Anmeldte lovbrudd og ofre (Offences and victims reported to the police), 2015: 68Anmeldte lovbrudd og ofre (Offences and victims reported to the police), 2016: 64.5Anmeldte lovbrudd og ofre (Offences and victims reported to the police), 2017: 60.6Anmeldte lovbrudd og ofre (Offences and victims reported to the police), 2018: 60Anmeldte lovbrudd og ofre (Offences and victims reported to the police), 2019: 58.2Anmeldte lovbrudd og ofre (Offences and victims reported to the police), 2020: 56Anmeldte lovbrudd og ofre (Offences and victims reported to the police), 2021: 51.7Anmeldte lovbrudd og ofre (Offences and victims reported to the police), 2022: 56.1Anmeldte lovbrudd og ofre (Offences and victims reported to the police), 2023: 59.8Anmeldte lovbrudd og ofre (Offences and victims reported to the police), 2024: 61.5Anmeldte lovbrudd og ofre (Offences and victims reported to the police), 2025: 62.3Straffesaksbehandlingen i politiet 2025 (police case register, STRASAK), 2016: 64.7Straffesaksbehandlingen i politiet 2025 (police case register, STRASAK), 2019: 58.3Straffesaksbehandlingen i politiet 2025 (police case register, STRASAK), 2020: 56.1Straffesaksbehandlingen i politiet 2025 (police case register, STRASAK), 2021: 51.8Straffesaksbehandlingen i politiet 2025 (police case register, STRASAK), 2022: 56.3Straffesaksbehandlingen i politiet 2025 (police case register, STRASAK), 2023: 59.9Straffesaksbehandlingen i politiet 2025 (police case register, STRASAK), 2024: 61.6Straffesaksbehandlingen i politiet 2025 (police case register, STRASAK), 2025: 62.3
Show the data as a table
YearAnmeldte lovbrudd og ofre (Offences and victims reported to the police)Straffesaksbehandlingen i politiet 2025 (police case register, STRASAK)
201568–
201664.564.7
201760.6–
201860–
201958.258.3
20205656.1
202151.751.8
202256.156.3
202359.859.9
202461.561.6
202562.362.3

People aged 16+ who were victims of violence or threats (survey), direction

Change in the share of people aged 16 and over who say they were exposed to violence or threats of violence in the last 12 months. Norway, Survey years 2015 to 2023 (2015, 2018, 2023). Unit: % change.

Rising +54.3%% change, 2023

60Trust scoreModerate certainty

Only one source – not confirmed by others. Agreement can't be measured, so the score can't reach High.

Score breakdown

Quality32 / 40

How well the sources are made

Agreement15 / 30

Unknown with one source, so set to half

Independence6 / 20

How many separate ways the number was measured

Freshness7 / 10

How recent the newest data is

How much each source counts

  • SSB survey100%

Sources

SourceValueDefinitionQualityWeight
Utsatthet og uro for lovbrudd, levekårsundersøkelsen (Victimisation and fear of crime, survey on living conditions)Statistics Norway (SSB) · Victim surveyRetrieved 2026-10-26Rising +54.3%2023
Share of people aged 16 and over who say they were exposed to one or more incidents of violence or threats of violence in the 12 months before the interview: 3.5% in 2015, 4.7% in 2018 and 5.4% in 2023.

Percent change calculated from SSB's published shares, which have one decimal. StatBank table 04621, 'Exposed to violence or threats of violence last 12 months, total', both sexes, all ages.

The survey runs every few years; 2015, 2018, 2023 are the survey years in the last 10 years. Interviews are mainly by telephone, January to June.

4 of 5 checks
  • Yes: Method and definitions published. SSB publishes the questions, sampling and weighting methods under 'About the statistics'.
  • Yes: Official statistics or peer-reviewed. Official statistics; the survey is part of the National Programme for Official Statistics from 2021.
  • Yes: Full count or representative sample. Random sample of about 11,000 people aged 16 and over, weighted for non-response; 5,531 answered in 2023 and 6,393 in 2015.
  • Yes: Raw data downloadable. Percentages are downloadable from StatBank table 04621; the microdata are not public.
  • No: No known break or quality problem. SSB added immigrant background, income and county to the weighting in 2023, response rates in the last four surveys were between 48% and 56%, and SSB says changes in data collection and weighting may affect comparability over time.
100%
People aged 16+ who were victims of violence or threats (survey), direction, by source · % of people aged 16 and over
024620152017201920212023Utsatthet og uro for lovbrudd, levekårsundersøkelsen (Victimisation and fear of crime, survey on living conditions), 2015: 3.5Utsatthet og uro for lovbrudd, levekårsundersøkelsen (Victimisation and fear of crime, survey on living conditions), 2018: 4.7Utsatthet og uro for lovbrudd, levekårsundersøkelsen (Victimisation and fear of crime, survey on living conditions), 2023: 5.4
Show the data as a table
YearUtsatthet og uro for lovbrudd, levekårsundersøkelsen (Victimisation and fear of crime, survey on living conditions)
20153.5
20184.7
20235.4

Reported violence and maltreatment offences, 10-year direction

Change in the number of violence and maltreatment offences registered as reported to the police. Norway, 2015 to 2025. Unit: % change.

Rising +35.3%% change, 2025

63Trust scoreModerate certainty

Only one source – not confirmed by others. Agreement can't be measured, so the score can't reach High.

Score breakdown

Quality32 / 40

How well the sources are made

Agreement15 / 30

Unknown with one source, so set to half

Independence6 / 20

How many separate ways the number was measured

Freshness10 / 10

How recent the newest data is

How much each source counts

  • SSB100%

Sources

SourceValueDefinitionQualityWeight
Anmeldte lovbrudd og ofre (Offences and victims reported to the police)Statistics Norway (SSB) · Police and justice recordsRetrieved 2026-10-26Rising +35.3%2025
Offences in SSB's group 'violence and maltreatment' (vold og mishandling) registered as reported to the police: assault and bodily harm, homicide, maltreatment in close relations, threats, robbery and extortion, coercion, reckless behaviour and stalking, and related offences.

35,003 in 2015 and 47,366 in 2025; SSB's published rate went from 6.8 to 8.5 per 1,000 inhabitants. StatBank table 08484.

A count, not a rate: it is not adjusted for population growth.

4 of 5 checks
  • Yes: Method and definitions published. SSB publishes definitions, the offence classification (Types of offences 2015) and methods under 'About the statistics'.
  • Yes: Official statistics or peer-reviewed. Official statistics produced by Statistics Norway.
  • Yes: Full count or representative sample. Full count of offences registered in the police case register during the year; offences never reported or registered are not included.
  • Yes: Raw data downloadable. Yearly counts are downloadable from StatBank table 08484.
  • No: No known break or quality problem. The group changed inside the period: SSB says some offence types under the Penal Code of 2005 mainly contain offences committed after 1 October 2015, and serious stalking became a separate offence on 1 July 2016; reports of reckless behaviour and stalking went from 5,400 to 10,717.
100%
Reported violence and maltreatment offences, 10-year direction, by source · reported offences
020K40K60K201520172019202120232025Anmeldte lovbrudd og ofre (Offences and victims reported to the police), 2015: 35,003Anmeldte lovbrudd og ofre (Offences and victims reported to the police), 2016: 34,969Anmeldte lovbrudd og ofre (Offences and victims reported to the police), 2017: 36,687Anmeldte lovbrudd og ofre (Offences and victims reported to the police), 2018: 37,461Anmeldte lovbrudd og ofre (Offences and victims reported to the police), 2019: 38,013Anmeldte lovbrudd og ofre (Offences and victims reported to the police), 2020: 37,063Anmeldte lovbrudd og ofre (Offences and victims reported to the police), 2021: 35,988Anmeldte lovbrudd og ofre (Offences and victims reported to the police), 2022: 39,465Anmeldte lovbrudd og ofre (Offences and victims reported to the police), 2023: 42,994Anmeldte lovbrudd og ofre (Offences and victims reported to the police), 2024: 45,438Anmeldte lovbrudd og ofre (Offences and victims reported to the police), 2025: 47,366
Show the data as a table
YearAnmeldte lovbrudd og ofre (Offences and victims reported to the police)
201535,003
201634,969
201736,687
201837,461
201938,013
202037,063
202135,988
202239,465
202342,994
202445,438
202547,366

Why the numbers differ

  • Most violence never reaches the police. In SSB's 2023 survey, 28% of incidents of violence had been reported to the police or had otherwise come to their knowledge, the same share as in 2018. (source, retrieved 2026-10-26)
  • Reporting has become easier. SSB says 118,300 offences, more than a third of all, were reported online in 2025: all businesses could report thefts, damage and burglary online from April 2025, and private individuals could report fraud online from late August 2025. SSB says the growth in online reports accounts for the whole rise in reported offences in 2025. (source, retrieved 2026-10-26)
  • Police priorities shape the numbers. SSB notes that police resources and priorities, and people's willingness to report, strongly affect which acts end up in the statistics.
  • Drug and alcohol offences, many of which have no victim who could report them, fell from 55,237 in 2015 to 28,584 in 2025, which pulls the total down. (source, retrieved 2026-10-26)
  • Laws changed. The Penal Code of 2005 took effect on 1 October 2015; SSB says totals are comparable across the change, but some detailed offence types only hold offences committed after it.
  • Serious stalking became a separate offence (Penal Code section 266 a) on 1 July 2016, and the same law change rewrote the offence of reckless behaviour (section 266). (source, retrieved 2026-10-26)
  • Reports of reckless behaviour and stalking went from 5,400 in 2015 to 10,717 in 2025, 43.0% of the rise in reported violence and maltreatment. (source, retrieved 2026-10-26)
  • The start year matters. Measured from 2016, the first full year under the new Penal Code, SSB's rate went from 64.5 to 62.3 per 1,000 (-3.4%), which this page would call flat. The lowest point was 51.7 in 2021, during the pandemic. (source, retrieved 2026-10-26)
  • The survey is not run every year: only 2015, 2018, 2023 fall in the period. SSB says the shares in 2012-2018 were historically low and the 2023 level is closer to the surveys from 1987 to 2007. (source, retrieved 2026-10-26)
  • The population grew, so counts rise faster than rates: SSB's rate of reported violence and maltreatment went from 6.8 to 8.5 per 1,000 people, a smaller rise than the 35.3% in the count. (source, retrieved 2026-10-26)
  • The police publish their own figures from the same register, frozen at 1 January, with their own offence groups. SSB says these can differ somewhat from its figures because of when and how the data are extracted and processed. (source, retrieved 2026-10-26)

Common mistakes

  • Measuring from the pandemic low. Reported offences were lowest in 2021 (278,833) and rose by 25.0% to 2025; SSB says the rise in property thefts has largely brought the level back to normal after the pandemic. (source, retrieved 2026-10-26)
  • Reading more reports as more crime. Reported offences depend on what people choose to report and how easy it is; SSB ties the 2025 rise to online reporting. (source, retrieved 2026-10-26)
  • Counting the police's own figures as a second source. They come from the same police register as SSB's statistics, so they cannot confirm SSB's trend independently. (source, retrieved 2026-10-26)