Finland recorded a new rise in violent crime involving children and teenagers in 2025, with the number of minors suspected of assault offences reaching the highest level on record, according to new figures published by Statistics Finland.

Police identified nearly 7,500 suspects under the age of 18 in solved assault cases last year. The figure rose by around 17 percent compared with 2024 and more than doubled from levels commonly seen during the 2010s.

Officials said the increase was strongest among children under 15.

“The share of minors among all suspects in solved assault offences was already 24 percent last year,” said Kimmo Haapakangas, senior statistician at Statistics Finland.

“That is more than double the average level seen during the 2010s.”

The figures show that children under 15 now account for more than 15 percent of all assault suspects recorded by police. In 2015, the same age group represented less than four percent.

According to Statistics Finland, 14-year-olds have been the single most common age among assault suspects every year since 2021. Last year, 13-year-olds ranked second and 15-year-olds third.

Girls accounted for around 18 percent of underage suspects in 2025.

Among adult suspects, women represented 20 percent of all assault suspects. Statistics Finland said the share of female suspects has doubled compared with the early 2000s.

Police recorded nearly 44,000 victims of assault offences in 2025, an increase of eight percent from the previous year and the highest figure since the statistics began.

The number of female victims rose particularly sharply

Around 19,000 women were recorded as victims of assault offences last year, up by roughly 11 percent from 2024. Statistics Finland described the figure as the highest ever recorded.

Male victims increased by around seven percent to 24,600, the second-highest total in the history of the dataset.

More than 11,500 children and teenagers under 18 became victims of assault offences in 2025, an increase of more than three percent from the previous year.

Statistics Finland said minors now account for a far larger share of assault victims than they did 15 years ago.

Haapakangas said many assaults involving children and teenagers also involve underage suspects.

“In assaults targeting minors, the suspect is often also a minor,” he said.

Last year, underage suspects were identified in 42 percent of assault cases involving underage victims. Officials noted that the real figure could be higher because the age of the suspect remained unknown in roughly one third of cases.

Around 78 percent of assault suspects in solved cases last year were of Finnish background, while 21 percent were of foreign background. The remaining share involved cases where background data was unavailable.

Statistics Finland said the proportions remained largely unchanged from 2024, though the number of suspects increased in both groups.

The number of Finnish-background suspects rose by more than 12 percent, while the number of suspects of foreign background increased by nearly 15 percent.

The highest proportion of suspects with foreign backgrounds appeared among children under 15.

The figures form part of Finland’s crime and coercive measures statistics, which track offences reported to and investigated by police.

HT