Murder victims in Austria: women more frequently affected than men, two-thirds killed at home
A study by FH Joanneum shows that Austria's murder rate has declined for decades – yet women become victims more often than men, most commonly in their own homes.
Austria ranks among the safest countries – yet women face higher murder risk
The overall number of homicides in Austria has declined on a long-term average. This emerges from an updated analysis by FH Joanneum, which was commissioned by the Austrian Federal Association of Violence Protection Centres and presented on Tuesday, as reported by ORF. At the same time, the data shows that women are more frequently victims of murder than men in total – and nearly two-thirds of them are killed in their own homes.
Study author Rainer Loidl from FH Joanneum in Graz explained that the aim of the analysis was to provide reliable facts on the subject of murder and to document long-term trends and gender-specific differences. The study was first conducted the previous year and provided a breakdown of homicides since the 1970s. Now figures from 2025 have been incorporated, and further evaluations by gender, age and origin of victims have been added.
4,335 killed since 1970, murder rate of 0.5 per 100,000
Over the period from 1970 to 2025, a total of 4,335 people were killed – 2,175 men and 2,160 women, which corresponds to an annual average of 77 victims. Over the past 20 years, the number of cases averaged between 33 and 60 murders annually. The murder rate – killings per 100,000 inhabitants – has declined since the 1970s and currently stands at 0.5. According to Loidl, Austria thus ranks among the safest countries worldwide.
The decline in murder victims is more pronounced in men than in women. Looking at the past 20 years overall, more women than men were killed. Since data on perpetrator-victim relationships are lacking, these cases cannot be referred to as femicides, it was stated at the presentation.
Two-thirds of murdered women killed at home
There is a marked gender-specific difference at the crime scene: since 2002, nearly two-thirds of murdered women were killed at home, whereas for men it was around one-third. The domestic context in women's murders remains a central problem area, according to the study.
Age differences were also analysed: in the group of those over 75 years old, women are proportionally more frequently affected by killings. In children under five years old, by contrast, boys are proportionally more often victims. Reports that Austria ranks among European countries with particularly high numbers of women's murders would not be confirmed by the figures, Loidl said.
Fewer murders, more murder attempts – emergency medicine as a factor
Another finding of the updated analysis: whilst the number of completed killings is declining, convictions for attempted murder – particularly since 2018 – have risen significantly. Fewer killings did not necessarily mean less willingness to use violence, Loidl explained. The declining case numbers were also attributable to improvements in emergency medicine.
The comparison of police crime statistics, court conviction statistics and cause-of-death statistics moreover showed that convictions for completed murder have scarcely decreased.
Mass shooting in Graz distorts 2024 annual figures
In the past year, Statistics Austria's cause-of-death statistics recorded 38 cases of homicide – fewer than in previous years. 23 of the victims were female, 15 male. In male victims, the numbers fluctuate more over time; the decline since 1970 is simultaneously more marked than in female fatalities.
Loidl pointed out that with altogether low case numbers, individual events can strongly distort annual figures. This was evident in 2024 through the mass shooting at a Graz school with ten fatalities. Roughly 26 per cent of all victims of the year thus accounted for a single event – and thus for one federal state, one month and one mechanism of killing. The majority of victims of this multiple killing were female.
Marina Sorgo, deputy chairwoman of the Austrian Federal Association of Violence Protection Centres, announced that the study was to be further developed annually in future.
Source: ORF