Foreign Nationals Account for Nearly Half of All Convictions in Bavaria

Bavarian courts convicted 105,938 individuals in 2025, with foreign nationals comprising nearly half of all convicted offenders, according to official prosecution statistics presented by Justice Minister Josef Schmid in Munich. While foreign residents accounted for 15.6 percent of the state's total population at the end of 2024, they represented 49.7 percent of all legally binding convictions. The statistics show that non-German citizens were convicted at a rate more than three times their proportion in the resident population.

The total number of convictions in Bavaria fell by 4.3 percent compared to the previous year, while convictions of foreign nationals decreased by 3.4 percent to 52,679. However, the overall share of foreign nationals among convicted persons rose slightly from 49.3 percent in 2024 to 49.7 percent in 2025. Even after excluding offences that apply exclusively to foreign nationals, such as illegal residence, foreign citizens accounted for 48.1 percent of convictions.

A similar distribution was recorded in the state's correctional facilities, where foreign nationals made up 50.4 percent of prison inmates as of March 31, 2026. Over the past decade, the proportion of foreign convicts in Bavaria has increased by more than 15 percentage points. In 2015, foreign nationals represented 11.5 percent of the state's population and 34.3 percent of convicted offenders.

The data recorded a sharp decline in convictions for human smuggling, which fell by 62.9 percent in 2025. Foreign nationals accounted for 94 percent of all individuals convicted of smuggling offences under Section 96 of the Residence Act. Schmid attributed the decrease to increased border controls and turnbacks at the frontier, which he said had deterred potential perpetrators.

Across specific categories of crime, the statistics showed conflicting trends. Convictions among juveniles for violent crime declined, with robbery cases falling by 20 percent. In contrast, convictions for the sexual abuse of children rose by 9.2 percent, while offences related to the distribution, acquisition, and possession of child pornography grew by 11.1 percent to 969 cases.

Convictions for rape increased by 4.4 percent to 141 individuals, and stalking convictions rose by 7.9 percent to 177. Despite these figures, Schmid stated that “Bavaria remains Germany's safest federal state” and described the risk of becoming a victim of a serious crime as low. The Justice Ministry noted that the prosecution statistics include non-resident foreign nationals, such as transit travellers and cross-border offenders, and that foreign populations statistically skew younger and more male than the general population.

Written by Martina Kirchner martina.kirchner@alpineweekly.com