Official data

Official data

Official data include lists of official organisations (the Police, Ministries of Justice, etc). In this case, we have used two major sources: official national data and the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). These data are homologated and standardised to be comparable between countries. We will use the latter for the infographics in this part of the study, as they make it easy to compare and understand concepts based on a common denominator. However, national data -especially from countries such as France, which uses a strict data recording methodology- demonstrate the extent of the study phenomenon and its under-representation.

There is a severe deficit of data on hate crimes in Poland and Hungary due to a lack of follow-up and observatories

Official figures

Official statistics on hate crimes reflect the rise of the phenomenon, and also a growing concern in public institutions. In 2015, when the OSCE started its analysis, the data were perfunctory and incomplete, although improved recording in the following years has led to greater detail and specificity. The last report was issued in 2018, making the data considerably out of date, although it is important to present them alongside other figures.

In contrast to records from civil society organisations, official data are analysed in blocks depending on the motive and type of aggression. Moreover, the data collection mechanisms are not comparable, and in countries like Hungary there is a notable lack of statistics, casting doubt on how well the phenomenon is represented. Nevertheless, analysing how data has changed has led to the conclusions presented below.

Hate crimes are on the rise in Europe

Hate crimes are a growing phenomenon in the countries analysed between 2015 and 2018 by the OSCE. In that last year, almost 10,000 accumulated crimes were recorded out of a total of 32,226 for the whole period. By country, between 2015 and 2018, Germany, with almost 12,000, and France, with around 10,000, account for 68% of all hate crimes recorded.

Table 1: Yearly number of hate crime incidents by country, 2015-2018

PAÍS TotalTotal (%)2015201620172018
Germany11.95337,09%3.0633.5982.5762.716
Spain3.95812,28%1.0031.005962988
France9.96630,93%1.7901.8351.9114.430
Hungary2640,82%----70194
Italy3.45010,71%5557361.0481.111
Poland2.6358,18%263941927504
TOTAL32.226--6.674

20,71%
8.115

25,18%
7.494

23,25%
9.943

30,85%

Gráfico 1: Evolución anual de números de incidentes de odio por país, 2015-2018

Germay

TOTAL 11.953

Spain

TOTAL 3.958

France

TOTAL 9.966

Hungary

TOTAL 264

Italy

TOTAL 3.450

Poland

TOTAL 2.635

The main catalysts of hate

In the official statistics, racism and xenophobia emerge as the main catalysts of hate crimes, and are the motive behind almost 60% of recorded crimes . None of the offences attributed to other motives reached 10%. The next two catalysts after racism and xenophobia are related to religious intolerance, in the form of anti-Semitism (9.28%) and anti-Christian (7.7%) offences.

The 2015-2020 period shows different forms or expressions of intolerance against religious beliefs or practices, or even against a lack of religiosity. There are cases of insults, interrupting religious services, raids on places of worship, defamation, graffiti, physical and/or psychological aggression, violent acts, terrorist hate crimes and acts of lèse-humanité (crimes against humanity).

There is no single cause to explain religious intolerance. On one hand, religious fundamentalists consider that their religion is the only real one. On the other, prejudice might be activated at other levels against the religious practices of other people, often related to social issues or against the high public profile of other practices.

Extreme religious intolerance, plus radicalisation, can lead to Jihad-inspired terrorism or other forms. This is illustrated by one of the perpetrators of the terrorist attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils on 17 August 2017, who shouted “death to Jews, death to infidels” as he drove a van through pedestrians on Las Ramblas.

Figure 2: Percentages of total hate incidents by country. Official Data

 TOTALTotal (%)AlemaniaEspañaFranciaHungríaItaliaPolonia
Racism and xenophobia18.88058,59%9.1081.9763.729522.4921.523
Anti-Christianism and other religions3.74711,63%9202892.42518--95
Anti-Semitism2.9909,28%917311.614----428
Islamophobia1.4704,56%509--576----385
Crimes against sexual orientation2.9189,064569291.263--24624
Persons with disabilities1.2753,96%25538----712--
Sexual crimes9893,07%--147840----2
Non-specified2420,75%--48--194----
Anti-Gypsyism
1960,61%18--------178
TOTAL32.226--11.9533.9589.9662643.4502.635

Figure 3: Total hate-related incidents per country. Official data

11.953 crimes
11.953 crimes

83,166,711 inhabitants

3.958 crimes
3.958 crimes

47.329.981 inhabitants

9.966 crimes
9.966 crimes

67.329.981 inhabitants

264 crimes
264 crimes

9.769.526 inhabitants

2.635 crimes
2.635 crimes

37.958.138 inhabitants

3.450 crimes
3.450 crimes

60.244.639 inhabitants

* Severe data deficit of hate crimes in Poland and Hungary due to a lack of monitoring and observatories about these realities

Religious intolerance and sexual attacks, the fastest-growing phenomena

Even though racism and xenophobia are the most common motives behind hate crimes in the analysis countries, their rate of growth between 2015 and 2018 has remained stable, and even dropped in 2018. However, records show considerable growth in other catalysts of hate such as religious intolerance. Anti-Semitism shows uneven growth, reaching its peak in 2018 with over a thousand offences. Attacks against Christian symbols increased from zero in 2016 to almost 2,000 in 2018. Furthermore, gender-motivated hate attacks have risen from 41 in 2016 (the first year of records) to almost 1,000 in 2018.

The 2015-2020 period shows different forms or expressions of intolerance against religious beliefs or practices or even against an absence of religiosity, or against the rigour of these practices within a given religion. Examples include insults, the interruption of religious services, attacks on places of worship, defamation, graffiti, physical and psychological aggression, violent acts, hate killings, terrorist crimes and lèse-humanité.

Table 3: Yearly evolution of hate crime incidents by type of motivation, 2015-2018. Official data

 TOTALTotal (%)2015201620172018
Racism and xenophobia18.88058,59%4.1935.5434.7704.374
Anti-Christianism and other religions3.74711,63%7575062482.236
Anti-Semitism2.9909,28%9662956281.101
Crimes against sexual orientation2.9189,05%2941.0431.076505
Persons with disabilities1.2753,95%372482184237
Sexual crimes9893,07%--4136912
Islamophobia9893,07%42158486303
Non-specified2420,75%24----218
Anti-Gypsyism1960,61%26476657
TOTAL32.226--6.6748.1157.4949.943

Figure 4: Percentages of hate incidents by year, 2015-2018. Official Data

Figure 5: Total hate incidents by motivation. Official Data

18.880
18.880

Racism and xenophobia

3.747
3.747

Anti-Christianism and other religions

2.990
2.990

Anti-Semitism

2.918
2.918

Crimes against sexual orientation and/or gender identity

1.275
1.275

Persons with disabilities

989
989

Sexual crimes

989
989

Islamophobia

196
196

Anti-Gypsyism

242
242

Not specified

Violent attacks are the main manifestation of hate

Hate crimes take the form of very different violent manifestations, including attacks against individuals or property. The most common form in the overall data collected by the OSCE is violent aggression against individuals, representing 30% of offences, followed by threats, which account for almost 20%. In the breakdown by country, there is a strikingly high number of attacks on places of worship in France (742) and fires in Germany (251).

Largest percentages
Agresiones 0
Agresiones
Amenazas/ Comportamientos amenazantes 0
Amenazas/ Comportamientos amenazantes

Table 4: Percentage of hate crime incidents by motivation and country

 TOTALTotal (%)2015201620172018
Racism and xenophobia18.88058,59%4.1935.5434.7704.374
Anti-Christianism and other religions3.74711,63%7575062482.236
Anti-Semitism2.9909,28%9662956281.101
Crimes against sexual orientation2.9189,05%2941.0431.076505
Persons with disabilities1.2753,95%372482184237
Sexual crimes9893,07%--4136912
Islamophobia9893,07%42158486303
Non-specified2420,75%24----218
Anti-Gypsyism1960,61%26476657
TOTAL32.226--6.6748.1157.4949.943