Fact check: What are the highest and lowest rape rates among European countries in 2024?

Executive Summary — Short Answer Up Front

The available datasets and summaries indicate Sweden registers the highest rate of reported sexual violence in recent European data (around 192 per 100,000), while Albania, North Macedonia, Italy, and Bulgaria appear among the lowest-ranked countries (single- to low-double digit rates per 100,000). These figures reflect reported incidents rather than true incidence, and substantial differences in legal definitions, reporting practices, and data years mean there is no single uncontested “2024” ranking; the sources cited are primarily 2022 reporting summarized in 2023–2024 publications ^{[1] [2]}.

1. A Stark Contrast: Sweden’s High Reported Rate Leads European Lists

Multiple analyses compiled from Statista-style country comparisons show Sweden at the top of reported sexual violence rates in Europe, with figures cited near 192 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the referenced datasets ^{[2] [1]}. These entries treat reported sexual violence as the metric, which combines legal definitions and reporting frequency rather than direct, uniform measures of prevalence across societies. The 2023 summaries emphasize Sweden’s lead in reported rates and place other Nordic countries high as well, underscoring that higher reporting can reflect both higher incidence and stronger reporting/recording systems ^{[2] [1]}.

2. Absolute Counts Tell a Different Story: France’s High Case Numbers

Another strand of the material notes that France reported the highest absolute number of rape cases in the referenced dataset (31,050 female victims and 3,937 male victims), which is a volume metric distinct from per-capita rates ^[3]. Absolute counts are influenced by population size, policing practices, and whether multiple reports per victim are counted, so France’s high numbers do not directly contradict Sweden’s higher per-capita rate; rather, they illustrate how different metrics—rate per 100,000 vs. raw counts—yield different “top” countries and should both be considered when interpreting which countries appear most affected ^[3].

3. Lowest-Rate Candidates: Albania, North Macedonia, Italy and Bulgaria Appear Low

The low end of the reported-rate spectrum in the supplied analyses lists Albania (about 4.85 per 100,000) and North Macedonia (around 7.1 per 100,000), with other low figures cited for Bulgaria (9.68) and Italy (11.43) in related summaries ^{[1] [2]}. These low reported rates may reflect underreporting, narrower legal definitions of sexual violence, social stigma, or weaker data collection systems rather than genuinely lower prevalence. The sources explicitly caution that comparability across countries is limited, and treating low reported rates as equivalent to “safest” risks significant misinterpretation ^[1].

4. Why Numbers Don’t Tell the Whole Story: Definitions and Reporting Matter

The dataset authors repeatedly warn that differences in legal definitions, recording practices, willingness to report, and police classification of offences make cross-country comparisons fraught ^[1]. Nordic countries’ higher reported rates may result from broader statutory definitions and more proactive reporting systems, while lower reported rates in some Balkan or southern countries may reflect social, cultural, or institutional barriers to reporting. Therefore, an apparent “highest” or “lowest” ranking based on reported data can reflect institutional and societal differences rather than pure incidence ^[1].

5. Temporal and Metric Caveats: 2022 Data Framed in 2023–2025 Summaries

The underlying figures in the provided analyses are framed as 2022 reporting compiled or summarized in 2023 and 2024 publications, while some broader safety rankings cited in 2025 do not directly address rape rates ^{[1] [3] [2] [4] [5]}. This temporal mismatch means that a precise “2024” single-year list is not present in the supplied sources; instead, the best-supported conclusion from these materials is that recent multi-year data place Sweden at the high end and several Balkan or southern states at the low end for reported sexual violence, subject to the limits already noted ^[1].

6. Multiple Ways to Measure — What Policymakers and Analysts Should Watch

Interpreting which countries have the “highest” or “lowest” rape rates depends on whether analysts use per-capita reported rates, absolute case counts, victim gender breakdowns, or victimization survey results; the supplied materials show each metric yields different leaders ^{[3] [2]}. Victimization surveys and harmonized legal definitions are the gold standard for comparability, but are often absent; hence the data cited here are useful for indicative comparisons but insufficient to declare a definitive 2024 ranking without harmonized, source-level data ^{[1] [3]}.

7. Bottom Line and Responsible Use of These Figures

From the supplied analyses, the defensible bottom-line is that Sweden appears highest in reported sexual violence rates in the referenced datasets while Albania and several other countries appear lowest, but these findings are shaped by reporting and definitional differences and derive from 2022/2023 compilations rather than a single 2024 harmonized dataset ^{[2] [1]}. Anyone using these figures should cite the metric (reported rate vs. absolute counts), the year, and the caveats about comparability, and seek harmonized victimization surveys or official EU/UN datasets for definitive cross-country rankings.