Romania had 16 cases of police-reported robberies per 100,000 inhabitants in 2017, according to Eurostat data quoted by local Agerpres. Estonia and Czechia (both 15 cases per 100,000 inhabitants), Cyprus (14), Slovenia (12), Slovakia and Hungary (both 9) were the only EU Member States with lower rates than Romania.

At the opposite end, the highest number of offences per 100 000 inhabitants were observed in Belgium (167), France (150), Spain (144), England and Wales (UK) (132), and Portugal (115).

In the EU, the number of police-recorded robberies fell by 24% between 2011 and 2017, from 522,000 to 396,000, after an increase of 4% between 2008 and 2011.

Robbery means stealing from someone by using physical force, weapon or threat, and is different from theft (without force) and assault (without stealing).

newsroom@romania-insider.com

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