Introduction
According to the National Survey of Victimization and Perception on Public Security (ENVIPE) 2025 presented by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), both the number of people victimized by any crime and the incidence of criminal activity increased in Mexico during 2024 compared to 2023.
Crime Statistics in 2024
Official figures estimated that over 33.5 million crimes occurred in 2024, with a rate of 34,918 crimes per 100,000 inhabitants. This is a 5% increase from the 33,267 crimes per 100,000 inhabitants reported in 2023.
INEGI reported that the states with the highest delinquency prevalence were Mexico State (34,851 victims per 100,000 inhabitants), Mexico City (30,804), and Tlaxcala (30,498). In contrast, the lowest rates were recorded in Chiapas, Tamaulipas, and Michoacán.
The most frequent crimes were fraud (7,574 per 100,000 inhabitants), robbery or assault on the street or public transportation (6,003), and extortion (5,971). The survey revealed that women were more affected by sexual crimes, with eight cases for every one committed against men.
Furthermore, the survey indicated that 23.1 million people aged 18 and over were victims of some crime, equating to 24,135 victims per 100,000 inhabitants—a 3.5% increase from the 23,323 victims per 100,000 reported in 2023. Overall, it was estimated that 21.9 million people experienced some crime across the country.
States with the highest victim rates were Mexico State (34,851 victims per 100,000 inhabitants), Mexico City (30,804), and Tlaxcala (30,498), while the lowest rates were in Chiapas (15,576), Tamaulipas (16,537), and Michoacán.
States with Rising Crime
INEGI explained that the delinquency incidence rate increased in 11 states, remained unchanged in 17, and decreased in four according to the hypothesis tests. However, nominally, 18 states showed increases, and 14 displayed decreases.
The difference was attributed to the fact that, according to statistical evidence, not all variations were significant, so they were considered “no change” in 17 states.
The margin of error in this measurement averages 11% at the state level, with a maximum of 15% in two cases and a minimum of 8%. In terms of victim rates, seven states saw decreases, another seven experienced increases, and 18 remained unchanged statistically significantly compared to 2023. Nominally, 17 states showed increases in their victim rates, and 15 experienced decreases.
The margin of error for this estimation is 7% on average, with cases ranging from a minimum of 4% to a maximum of 10%.
Cost of Crime
The total cost of crime and insecurity in Mexican households was estimated at 269,600 billion pesos in 2024, representing 1.07% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
On average, each affected person lost 6,226 pesos. Of this total amount, 62% corresponded to losses due to victimization (177,800 billion pesos), while 34% was allocated to preventive measures taken by households (91.8 billion) and 4% to health damages (10.7 billion).
Common preventive measures included changing locks or padlocks (22.8%), changing doors or windows (18.8%), installing grates or fences (12.6%), and joint actions with neighbors (11.2%). Acquiring guard dogs was less frequent (3.5%).
Victims of complete vehicle theft lost, on average, 32,439 pesos, while fraud victims lost 7,039 pesos. Other crimes like street or public transportation robbery, home burglary, extortion, and threats also generated significant losses ranging from 2,208 to 6,479 pesos per victim depending on the crime type.
Reporting and Hidden Figure
ENVIPE 2025 revealed that the figure of unreported crimes increased. Of the 33.5 million crimes that occurred in 2024, 93.2% were not reported; for 2023, the figure was 92.9%.
Of the reported cases, 70.5% initiated an investigation file, but in 39.2% of cases, nothing was resolved, and 40.7% were still in process.
