Ben Pawlowski
DO you feel safe in Spain?
The answer you give will probably depend on where you live – and fresh crime data from the National Statistics Institute (INE) has shone a light on a startling disparity between the country’s cities.
Taking the unwanted crown for most dangerous city is – perhaps unsurprisingly – Barcelona, a thriving metropolis known as much for its pickpocket scene as its magnificent gothic architecture.
According to the INE, Barcelona had a jaw-dropping rate of 8,563 offences per 100,000 residents during the first half of 2025, with the bulk of incidents occurring in bustling neighbourhoods popular with tourists.
It could be worse, too.
New statistics from Barcelona’s Local Security Board suggest crime rates fell by almost 9% between January and June 2025 when compared with the same period last year.
That includes a 6.8% drop in theft – the perennial headache for tourists and locals alike.
But Barcelona still tops the crime podium, streaks ahead of its other metropolitan rivals.
In second is Madrid, Spain’s capital, with 7,980 recorded offences per 100,000 residents.
Sevilla, Valencia and Malaga make up the top five as criminals look to target busy areas popular with the around 94 million foreign visitors who holiday in Spain every year.
And it’s a similar story if you look regionally, with Catalunya topping the table with over 207,000 incidents in the first six months of the year.
Pipping Madrid to second place is Andalucia, which accounted for 160,038 of the total 1,212,268 offences recorded nationwide from January to June – a mere 333 more than Spain’s capital.
READ MORE: Crime drops 9% in Spain’s Barcelona – but knife attacks and sexual violence surge
The Valencian Community ranks fourth with 114,086 offences, well ahead of Spain’s remaining regions including the Canary Islands, the Balearics and the Basque Country.
According to the INE, conventional crime – such as murder, robbery, assault, drug or sexual offences – makes up almost 80% of the total number of reported transgressions.
In total, the number of offences registered during the first half of the year is down 0.9% compared to the same time period in 2024.
Spain’s most dangerous cities (according to the INE):
- Barcelona – 8,563 offences per 100,000 residents
- Madrid – 7,980
- Sevilla – 6,450
- Valencia – 6,230
- Malaga – 5,875
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Makes me wonder why such an uproar was made of the apparent attack on a citizen in Torre Pacheco, Murcia, a few weeks ago. Reported in several overseas newspapers, including some in the USA! Maybe the truth will come out that this very minor incident (where the injured party did not want to press charges) was politically inspired?