The number of reports of right-wing extremist crimes in Austria has risen sharply in 2025, according to a response from Interior Minister Gerhard Karner. In the first half of the year, 787 crimes were recorded, representing a 41.5 per cent increase on the same period last year (556 in the first half of 2024; 1,486 for the full year of 2024), despite 2024 already being a record year. Notably, 91 per cent of the perpetrators were male.
Of the 787 reported crimes, 21 were classified as antisemitic and 11 as Islamophobic. The latter represents a marked increase compared with three cases in the previous year. Reports under the Prohibition Act also rose significantly, from 577 to 785. By federal state, Vienna tops the list (236), followed by Upper Austria (171) and Lower Austria (103). The data show that 27 per cent of right-wing extremist crimes occurred online (212).
The infographic shows the number of right-wing extremist crimes in Austria. In the first half of 2025, 787 incidents were reported, compared with 556 in the first half of 2024. For the full year 2024, there were 1,486 incidents. Most were committed by men (523 cases), followed by 54 by women. In 324 cases, the perpetrator is unknown.
“The current figures underline once again the worrying trend of recent years. We face a problem of sharply rising right-wing extremism, both online and on the streets. Particularly concerning is that young people are increasingly targeted by right-wing agitation,” said SPÖ spokesperson for the culture of remembrance, Sabine Schatz.
To counter this trend, a comprehensive package of measures is needed, including prevention programmes in schools and youth centres, increased support for victims, strategies to combat online hate, and a programme for those wishing to leave extremist groups. “Only through determined and coordinated action can we succeed in removing the breeding ground for right-wing extremism,” said Schatz.
Work on a National Action Plan against right-wing extremism, which the federal government committed to implementing in its programme, is currently “under way intensively.”
In the summer, SPÖ Federal Executive Director Klaus Seltenheim expressed confidence that the Interior Ministry would present the plan in the autumn. SPÖ State Secretary Jörg Leichtfried, also based in the ministry, anticipated a swift agreement.
The call to accelerate the National Action Plan was made by Andreas Kranebitter, head of the Documentation Centre of Austrian Resistance, in an interview with the APA during the summer, and he renewed it in response to Thursday’s figures. “It is high time to act on one of the most pressing problems in our society. (…) We must not become accustomed to the rise in right-wing extremist acts. Every offence harms people; every single one is one too many,” Kranebitter said in a statement. Long-term comparisons also show troubling trends: in 2005, the number of right-wing extremist crimes was 205, according to the DÖW, which publishes the annual right-wing extremism report.
Karner interpreted the figures as the result of consistent police work: “The current numbers show once again that the police and the Constitutional Protection Service are taking decisive action against every form of extremism. Just two days ago, a major and determined operation was carried out against right-wing extremists, resulting in 25 house searches with numerous seizures,” he said in a statement.
