Number of crimes in China 2013-2023

In 2023, around 4.5 million incidents of crime were recorded in China. That was about 73,000 cases more than in the previous year, when 5.03 million incidents were reported. 

Crime in China

The total number of crimes in China increased steadily from around 2.2 million incidents in 1999 to nearly 7.2 million in 2015. Since 2015, the number of recorded crimes started to drop, most probably due to new protection and surveillance technologies. In relation to the population size of 1.4 billion people in China, the number of crimes committed is not very high compared to other countries. For example, the United Sates reported more crimes in 2018 than all of China, although the total population of China was considerably greater. The crime rate of Singapore, as an example for a country in the Asia Pacific region, is also quite a bit higher than in China. However, one must bear in mind that the definition of crimes, the willingness to report crimes, and accounting measures may vary in different countries.

Most common crimes in China

When it comes to different types of crimes, theft and fraud are by far the most common crimes committed in China. In 2018, these two categories accounted for around 78 percent of all criminal incidents. Theft was also the crime that decreased most in recent years, while technological options for property protection and surveillance in general have improved significantly. The number of murders was relatively low at 7,525 cases, which was around 0.54 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.