MUSCAT: Nearly 21,000 crimes were recorded across Oman in 2025, an increase of 14.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the latest figures from the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

Property-related offences dominated the crime statistics, accounting for 62.3 percent of all cases registered during the year. Nearly 13,000 such offences were reported, representing a 33 percent increase compared with 2024.

Offences against individuals made up the second-largest category at 28.8 percent of the total.

Crimes involving public administration and public trust represented 3.5 percent, while offences related to liquor and public drunkenness accounted for 2.8 percent. Moral offences made up a further 2.1 percent.

On average, 58 crimes were recorded each day across the Sultanate in 2025, up from 50 a day in the previous year. The national crime rate was 3.9 offences for every 1,000 people.

Muscat records more than 8,900 offences
Muscat Governorate accounted for the biggest share of recorded crime, with 8,916 offences, equivalent to 42 percent of the nationwide total.

The governorate’s crime rate stood at 5.8 offences per 1,000 residents.

North Al Batinah ranked second by number of cases, recording 3,002 offences, followed by South Al Batinah with 1,985 and Dhofar with 1,827.

Al Wusta reported the fewest offences among the governorates, with 120 cases during the year.

Number of offenders climbs 10%
Official figures also showed an increase in the number of people recorded as offenders.

A total of 26,847 people were charged or apprehended in connection with crimes during 2025, compared with 24,341 a year earlier, an increase of about 10 percent.

Men represented the vast majority, accounting for 22,869, or 85 percent, of the total. Women accounted for the remaining 3,978 cases.

People between the ages of 18 and 59 made up 25,524 of the offenders recorded during the year.

Those aged between 30 and 39 formed the single largest age group, with 9,647 offenders, representing 36 percent of the total.

There were also 751 juvenile offenders below the age of 18.

The number of individuals and entities affected by crime rose to 21,900 in 2025, up 14.6 percent from the previous year.

Individuals represented 79 percent of those affected, with 17,371 people recorded. Around seven in 10 affected individuals were male.

The number of individuals affected by crime increased by 32 percent compared with 2024.

In contrast to the broader increase in recorded offences, cases classified under Public Rights declined significantly. A total of 1,543 such cases were registered, down 52.2 percent year-on-year.