According to the 2025 German Police Crime Statistics (PKS) from the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), foreign nationals from Serbia are listed with significantly higher numbers of crime suspects than those from Albania.
Key Figures from the Data (Excluding Certain VgAAG/EU Offenses)
Serbia (Rank 9):
18,544 suspects
2.74% of total foreign suspects in the table
Albania (Rank 21):
7,299 suspects, 1.08% of total foreign suspects in the table
This means Serbian nationals appear with roughly 2.5 times more suspects than Albanian nationals in the reported figures.
For context within the broader top rankings (from the provided table):
Romania led with 65,299 suspects (9.63%).
Syria followed closely at 62,915 (9.28%).
Turkey: 62,143 (9.17%).
Other notable entries include Ukraine (48,440), Poland, Afghanistan, and Bulgaria ahead of Serbia.
Population Context Matters for Rates
Raw suspect numbers do not equal per capita crime rates. Population sizes differ:
Serbian citizens in Germany: Approximately 260,000–270,000 (recent estimates around 272,000).
Albanian citizens: Lower, around 70,000–80,000 registered, though broader ethnic Albanian figures (including Kosovo origins) are higher, sometimes estimated in the hundreds of thousands when including Kosovo nationals.
Broader Picture
Crime statistics by nationality are frequently debated in Germany. Proponents of stricter immigration policies point to overrepresentation as evidence of failed integration or selection effects in migration. Critics emphasize confounding variables like poverty, discrimination, family structures, cultural factors, and the fact that most immigrants (including from the Balkans) are law-abiding. Balkan groups have historical migration patterns to Germany, often for labor, with varying waves (guest workers, refugees from the 1990s wars, recent economic migrants).
Serbia and Albania both have established diasporas in Germany, but differences in community size, arrival timelines, education levels, employment rates, and cultural norms can affect outcomes. Organized crime links (e.g., historical notes on Albanian or Serbian groups in drug trafficking or property crime) have been reported in past BKA organized crime assessments, but these do not represent entire nationalities.
Data like this should inform policy—such as better vetting, integration programs, deportation of criminal non-citizens, and addressing root causes—without generalizing to entire ethnic groups. Most Serbs and Albanians in Germany contribute positively through work and taxes.
Conclusion
In the 2025 BKA suspect data, Serbian nationals are indeed more represented than Albanian nationals in absolute terms among foreign crime suspects. This aligns with the table provided. Per capita analysis and deeper socioeconomic context would provide a fuller picture, but the raw disparity highlighted is factual based on the reported statistics.
Source
Polizeiliche Kriminalstatistik 2025.
