MesserMonitor statistics place published knife attacks, knife threats, robbery and extortion involving a knife in their regional and temporal context. The federal-state comparison shows case counts and cases per 100,000 residents. Further analysis shows absolute case numbers by period, case type, level of use and reported injury outcome.
Comparison year2025
Federal states compared · 2025
Cases through December 31, 2025
Comparison of published cases by federal state with population, immigration history and people seeking protection.
Population Immigration history People seeking protectionMesserMonitor cases
Baden-Württemberg
11,245,909 Population
13.47 %32.06 %3.40 %
491 Cases · 4.37 Cases per 100,000 residents
Bavaria
13,260,815 Population
15.88 %26.18 %2.98 %
382 Cases · 2.88 Cases per 100,000 residents
Berlin
3,701,307 Population
4.43 %35.45 %5.21 %
196 Cases · 5.30 Cases per 100,000 residents
Brandenburg
2,552,851 Population
3.06 %10.07 %2.96 %
72 Cases · 2.82 Cases per 100,000 residents
Bremen
706,901 Population
0.85 %40.03 %6.62 %
80 Cases · 11.32 Cases per 100,000 residents
Hamburg
1,869,801 Population
2.24 %35.51 %4.12 %
53 Cases · 2.83 Cases per 100,000 residents
Hesse
6,281,600 Population
7.52 %33.51 %4.42 %
352 Cases · 5.60 Cases per 100,000 residents
Lower Saxony
8,002,922 Population
9.58 %22.62 %4.24 %
314 Cases · 3.92 Cases per 100,000 residents
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
1,567,290 Population
1.88 %8.61 %3.34 %
69 Cases · 4.40 Cases per 100,000 residents
North Rhine-Westphalia
17,999,392 Population
21.55 %30.14 %4.40 %
847 Cases · 4.71 Cases per 100,000 residents
Rhineland-Palatinate
4,124,910 Population
4.94 %25.87 %3.51 %
172 Cases · 4.17 Cases per 100,000 residents
Saarland
1,008,047 Population
1.21 %24.11 %5.35 %
18 Cases · 1.79 Cases per 100,000 residents
Saxony
4,024,188 Population
4.82 %10.49 %3.41 %
141 Cases · 3.50 Cases per 100,000 residents
Saxony-Anhalt
2,121,638 Population
2.54 %9.95 %3.69 %
79 Cases · 3.72 Cases per 100,000 residents
Schleswig-Holstein
2,959,859 Population
3.54 %19.29 %4.03 %
121 Cases · 4.09 Cases per 100,000 residents
Thuringia
2,081,288 Population
2.49 %10.19 %3.49 %
100 Cases · 4.80 Cases per 100,000 residents
Analysis and result
The figures are based on publicly reported cases found through the evaluated sources.
Social context
Each point represents a federal state. Its position connects the selected social indicator with published cases per 100,000 residents.
Area statesCity states
Result for the selected indicatorData table and sources
A man is alleged to have threatened two people with a knife during an argument in Nürtingen and attempted to injure them. He has been remanded in custody.
During an argument in Künzelsau, a man is alleged to have waved a pocketknife in front of another man. The other man suffered a minor hand injury while defending himself.
Two minors allegedly threatened a shop assistant with a knife and demanded cash from the till at a store in Diepholz. They were arrested after fleeing.
Three men armed with a knife allegedly attacked two women in a detached house in Kaarst and stole cash and jewellery. One woman sustained minor injuries.
A man allegedly threatened passers-by with a knife in Bremen. Specialist officers later secured him and a small child he was holding; both were uninjured.
A 22-year-old man allegedly threatened another man with a knife at Bielefeld Central Station early on Wednesday. Federal police arrested the suspect after reviewing video footage.
A 25-year-old man is suspected of critically injuring a 28-year-old with a folding knife outside a Mannheim supermarket. He was arrested and remanded in custody.
During a dispute in Schwerin, an 18-year-old man allegedly threatened his former partner’s new partner with a knife. A witness who intervened was injured in a subsequent confrontation.
A 29-year-old man sustained a serious stab injury during an altercation in Mannheim. Criminal police are investigating the weapon used and an as-yet unidentified suspect.
An unknown man allegedly threatened a pupil outside a secondary school in Plauen while carrying a long knife-like object. He then threw a firecracker into a group and fled in a car.
During an altercation in Alzey, a 32-year-old man is alleged to have pulled a knife and threatened other people. Police are examining differing accounts of what happened.
A motorcyclist allegedly displayed a knife to a pedestrian during a dispute on Langenbochumer Straße in Herten. Nobody was injured and police are investigating.
A 41-year-old woman allegedly demanded cash with a knife at a petrol station in Hattingen. The employee handed over a cash box; the woman was later arrested and remanded in custody.
