Five of the most dangerous cities in Spain – criminals are following tourists

Do you feel secure in Spain?

The answer you give will probably depend on where you live – and fresh crime data from the National Statistics Institute (INE) has shone a light on a startling disparity between the country’s cities.

Taking the unwanted crown for most dangerous city is – perhaps unsurprisingly – Barcelona, a thriving metropolis known as much for its pickpocket scene as its magnificent gothic architecture.

According to the INE Barcelona’s shocking rate of 8.563 crimes per 100,000 residents in the first half 2025 was largely due to incidents that occurred in tourist-friendly neighbourhoods.

It could have been worse.

Barcelona’s Local Security Board has released new statistics that show crime rates are down by nearly 9% between January 2025 and the same time last year.

Read more: Have you been robbed in Barcelona? Police finally smash pickpocket gangs – and set up database of over 1,000 stolen mobiles

That includes a 6.8% drop in theft – the perennial headache for tourists and locals alike.

Barcelona remains the leader in crime and is far ahead of other major metropolitan cities.

Madrid, the capital of Spain, is ranked second with 7,980 offences per 100,000 inhabitants.

Sevilla is ranked number five, followed by Valencia and Malaga. Criminals are targeting popular areas in Spain that attract the 94,000,000 foreign tourists who visit the country every year. 

Catalunya tops the table in terms of regional incidents, with 207,000 reported incidents in the first six month of the current year.

Pipping Madrid to second place is Andalucia, which accounted for 160,038 of the total 1,212,268 offences recorded nationwide from January to June – a mere 333 more than Spain’s capital.

READ MORE: Crime drops 9% in Spain’s Barcelona – but knife attacks and sexual violence surge

Valencian Community ranks 4th with 114.086 offenses. It is far ahead of Spain’s other regions such as the Canary Islands. Balearics. and Basque Country.

According to the INE, conventional crime – such as murder, robbery, assault, drug or sexual offences – makes up almost 80% of the total number of reported transgressions.

Total number of offences recorded during the first six months of the year decreased by 0.9% when compared with the same time period from 2024.

Spain’s Most Dangerous Cities (according to INE)

1. Barcelona – 8,563 offences per 100,000 residents
2. Madrid – 7,980
3. Sevilla – 6,450
4. Valencia – 6,230
5. Malaga – 5,875

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