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
Following a joint robbery in Wolfenbüttel, three men are alleged to have attacked a 74-year-old man. Police said he defended himself with a knife; all three suspects were injured and remanded in custody.
Two men allegedly confronted each other with a knife and a machete after an argument at shared accommodation in Zaberfeld. Both sustained hand injuries and were provisionally detained.
During an argument in a Nagold supermarket, a man allegedly made stabbing motions with a knife toward another man. Pepper spray slightly injured at least six customers, and two police officers were also slightly injured during the arrest.
A 20-year-old man is accused of trying to injure a 19-year-old at the neck with a knife in Hamburg-St. Pauli. The victim was unharmed, and a detention warrant was issued for the suspect.
A teenager was reportedly surrounded by a group of unknown men in Kassel and forced to hand over his wallet after being threatened with, among other weapons, a knife.
Two unidentified men allegedly harassed, insulted and struck a teenager on a replacement bus in Dresden. One of the men waved a knife during the incident.
A 45-year-old woman was seriously injured after her separated husband allegedly attacked her with a knife in Niederkrüchten-Brempt on Saturday evening, police said.
Following a dispute, a man allegedly threatened a fellow resident of shared accommodation in Biesdorf with a knife. Police say that during his arrest he also tried to attack an officer with headbutts.
A knife was reportedly displayed during an altercation involving several young people at the science park in Gelsenkirchen. Several people involved were found injured.
A man allegedly threatened a passer-by with a knife near Frankfurt's Konstablerwache after the passer-by declined an offer of drugs. Police detained the suspect after a brief flight.
A 27-year-old woman was allegedly injured with a knife by an unknown man in Kirchheim unter Teck. She was taken to hospital and police said her life was not in danger.
