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 year2026
Federal states compared · 2026
Cases through August 29, 2026
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 %
311 Cases · 2.77 Cases per 100,000 residents
Bavaria
13,260,815 Population
15.88 %26.18 %2.98 %
253 Cases · 1.91 Cases per 100,000 residents
Berlin
3,701,307 Population
4.43 %35.45 %5.21 %
109 Cases · 2.94 Cases per 100,000 residents
Brandenburg
2,552,851 Population
3.06 %10.07 %2.96 %
22 Cases · 0.86 Cases per 100,000 residents
Bremen
706,901 Population
0.85 %40.03 %6.62 %
49 Cases · 6.93 Cases per 100,000 residents
Hamburg
1,869,801 Population
2.24 %35.51 %4.12 %
40 Cases · 2.14 Cases per 100,000 residents
Hesse
6,281,600 Population
7.52 %33.51 %4.42 %
259 Cases · 4.12 Cases per 100,000 residents
Lower Saxony
8,002,922 Population
9.58 %22.62 %4.24 %
174 Cases · 2.17 Cases per 100,000 residents
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
1,567,290 Population
1.88 %8.61 %3.34 %
27 Cases · 1.72 Cases per 100,000 residents
North Rhine-Westphalia
17,999,392 Population
21.55 %30.14 %4.40 %
508 Cases · 2.82 Cases per 100,000 residents
Rhineland-Palatinate
4,124,910 Population
4.94 %25.87 %3.51 %
102 Cases · 2.47 Cases per 100,000 residents
Saarland
1,008,047 Population
1.21 %24.11 %5.35 %
7 Cases · 0.69 Cases per 100,000 residents
Saxony
4,024,188 Population
4.82 %10.49 %3.41 %
87 Cases · 2.16 Cases per 100,000 residents
Saxony-Anhalt
2,121,638 Population
2.54 %9.95 %3.69 %
62 Cases · 2.92 Cases per 100,000 residents
Schleswig-Holstein
2,959,859 Population
3.54 %19.29 %4.03 %
42 Cases · 1.42 Cases per 100,000 residents
Thuringia
2,081,288 Population
2.49 %10.19 %3.49 %
49 Cases · 2.35 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 allegedly used a knife to demand cash and tobacco products from an employee at a petrol station in Merseburg. Police provisionally detained a 24-year-old suspect.
A teenager was injured in the abdomen with a knife during a dispute in Münster's Engelenschanzenpark. Police are seeking witnesses after the suspect fled.
A masked unknown man threatened staff at a petrol station in Finkenwerder and a kiosk in Neuenfelde with a knife on Monday morning, demanding cash in each case. Both employees were unharmed and the offender escaped.
Police are investigating three suspects after several robberies at petrol stations and a kiosk in southern Hamburg. Employees were allegedly threatened with a machete and forced to hand over cash.
A man allegedly threatened a resident with a knife after forcibly entering a flat in Uelzen. The resident was also slightly injured with a baseball bat.
A man allegedly threatened an unknown victim with a knife after leaving a polling station in Krefeld. Police later located him and issued an exclusion order.
