In 2025, German police recorded 1,521 violent crimes motivated by right-wing extremism — the highest figure since 2016, according to data from the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA).
Compared to 2024, when 1,488 such crimes were recorded, the number rose by 33 cases. Against 2023 (approximately 1,270 cases), the increase amounts to nearly 20%. This marks the second consecutive year of growth in right-wing extremist violent crime.
Overall right-wing crime figures for 2025, however, edged slightly lower, with preliminary data showing 41,072 cases. Despite the decline in total numbers, the share of violent offences within that figure has grown noticeably. Most incidents are classified as grievous bodily harm, resisting law enforcement, and other acts of physical aggression.
The data were published in response to a parliamentary inquiry by the Die Linke faction. Representatives of the left-wing party have already accused the federal government of underestimating the threat posed by right-wing extremism and called for stronger countermeasures.
Germany’s Interior Ministry has so far refrained from sharp comment, stating that all such crimes are subject to special monitoring and are being actively investigated. The BKA’s final official statistics for 2025 will be published later.
Experts attribute the rise in the violent component of right-wing extremism to the broader polarisation of society, growing migration pressures, economic difficulties, and the heightened intensity of political debate in the country.
These figures once again raise questions about the effectiveness of existing extremism prevention programmes and whether German authorities are tackling radical manifestations of both right- and left-wing extremism in a sufficiently balanced manner.