Sentences in Austria: slight decrease in 2025, post-pandemic trend interrupted

Regarding citizenship, just over 53% of those convicted in 2025 were Austrian citizens, while approximately 47% held foreign citizenship. The recidivism rate, referring to the four-year period 2021-2025, stands at about 31%, a slight increase of 0.2 percentage points compared to the previous year: almost one in three convicted individuals was found guilty at least once in the four years considered.

Types of offenses: property, drugs, and crimes against persons

In 2025, 91.5% of convicted persons were convicted only once within the year, 7.5% twice, and 1% three or more times. This is a stable proportion, suggesting that intra-annual recidivism remains a limited but not negligible phenomenon.

In terms of offense types, the most represented category is property crimes, which alone account for about one-third of the total. These are followed, with almost 19% of offenses, by crimes against life and physical integrity, and with about 13% by violations of the Narcotics Act (Suchtmittelgesetz), a decrease of 5.6% compared to 2024.

Particularly marked was the decrease in convictions for attempted or completed murder, which fell by about 24% year-on-year. Convictions for offenses under the Foreign Police Act (Fremdenpolizeigesetz) also decreased, by 56.2%, with a clear drop particularly in cases of facilitating illegal immigration (Schlepperei).

Overall picture: stable volumes, differentiated signals

Convictions for violations of the Prohibition Act (Verbotsgesetz), the Austrian legislation that punishes activities related to National Socialism, also decreased slightly, by about 8%. Sex offenses account for about 3% of the total and remain almost unchanged compared to the previous year.

Overall, the picture drawn by Statistik Austria presents a judicial system with stable volumes and a composition of offenses quite similar to previous years, but with differentiated signals: more serious crimes against persons and violations related to narcotics and foreign police are decreasing, while the four-year recidivism rate is slightly increasing.

The data released Tuesday by Statistik Austria thus offer a first assessment for 2025 that does not confirm the post-pandemic recovery, while not signaling a marked reversal of trend. The combined reading of convictions, offenses, and recidivism – the latter slightly increasing – suggests the need to monitor developments in the coming years to distinguish between cyclical fluctuations and structural changes in the criminal phenomenon in Austria.