In early October 2025, an image circulated online showing rape statistics in Europe, with the UK at the top of the rankings. We have checked whether this information is true.
On October 7, Russian-language Telegram channels began distributing infographics with captions like this: “The UK has the highest rape rate in Europe. Last year, 71,227 rapes were reported in the country, almost nine times (7,801) more than in 2000. The rape rate has reached 114 per 100,000 people, surpassing Sweden for the first time.” Some users added: “Rape among Islamists is a method of purifying women from public space, as well as a demonstration of power.” Similar messages were published by Telegram channels such as “Banksta"(91,000 views at the time of writing this analysis), "HtoSho | Sergey Cherkassky" (57,000), "Freshness"(41,000), etc. The news also spread throughout Facebook, YouTube, Reddit, "Zen" And Instagram.
In the infographic that has gone viral on social media, the Restore Britain logo is visible in the lower left corner. This is the UK far-right community, created June 30, 2025 by British MP Rupert Lowe. Movement stands for the deportation of illegal immigrants from the United Kingdom, the defense of British culture and the restoration of Christian principles. On its official page on the X network Restore Britain regularly publishes materials criticizing the British authorities for their liberal migration policy and to reinforce their ideological theses use statistics on crimes committed by migrants.
July 20, 2025 in the Restore Britain account in X appeared image with rape statistics in Europe and the caption: “The UK is an increasingly dangerous place for women. We need concrete action, starting with the mass deportation of all illegal migrants.” Organization leader Rupert Lowe published the same graphic on his Facebook wrote: “Great Britain is the rape capital of Europe. Cause? Uncontrolled mass immigration."
The source of statistical data was the website World Population Review. According to those given there information for 2022 (later data was unavailable), at the time the infographic was created, the UK actually ranked first in Europe with a rate of 109 rape cases per 100,000 inhabitants per year. The table was later updated and at the time of writing this material was already slightly different from the original one. The World Population Review itself indicates the source of its data UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
Despite the fact that the number of rape reports in many European countries increased over the past few years, it has been incorrect to compare countries with each other. Firstly, how notes UNODC, in Europe there is no single legal interpretation of the concept of “rape”. In countries with stricter protections for women's rights, the definition is broader and therefore the number of reported crimes is higher than in countries with a narrower definition. For example, in 2018 Sweden changed its definition of rape to include any sexual activity without consent, and not just force or threats, followed by the number of rape convictions in the country has grown by 75%. In England, a similar one has been in place since 2003. law about sexual crimes, where the criterion for rape is the lack of consent. There, the following actions are considered a crime of citizen A in relation to citizen B: “B does not consent to the penetration, and A has no reasonable grounds to believe that B consents. The reasonableness of the reasonable grounds is determined by taking into account all the circumstances, including any steps taken by A to ascertain B's consent." For comparison, in Bulgaria, which is at the bottom of the same European rankings, the definition is much stricter and implies coercion and threats against the victim. “Anyone who has sexual intercourse with a woman is punished for rape: by depriving her of the possibility of self-defense and without her consent; coercing her by force or threat; by bringing her into a helpless state,” says the Article 152 Criminal Code of Bulgaria. In 2022, the US State Department published report on the observance of human rights in different countries of the world. The report highlights Eastern European states and Bulgaria in particular:
"In most countries in south-eastern Europe, perpetrators of domestic and sexual violence often receive lenient sentences, with the burden of proof falling largely on the victims. <...> Bulgaria is one of the countries where marital rape is not a crime, and although the authorities could prosecute marital rape under general rape law, they often do not", — quotes report published by Balkan Insight.
Secondly, the statistics mentioned only include crimes that were reported to the police. However, cultural attitudes in some countries often discourage victims from reporting violence, resulting in many cases going unreported. In Serbia, which also ranks at the bottom, victims of domestic and sexual violence often do not report crimes due to mistrust of authorities, the report says. report US State Department. All these factors explain why the UK and Swedish rates appear to be significantly higher than those in countries with less effective victim protection. “If definitions of rape and cultural support for victims were the same, the data would look completely different,” note in World Population Review.
It is also worth noting one more inaccuracy: on the viral graph, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (which includes England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) appears in the first line of the ranking, while in the World Population Review statistics the figures indicated for England and Wales only. If you calculate the overall rape rate for all four countries, it would be about 75.9 per 100,000 inhabitants, not 117.3.
Given in Russian-language posts on social networks figures: 71,227 cases of rape (114 per 100,000 inhabitants) in the UK - these are statistics for 2024, published UK Office for National Statistics in April 2025. On October 7, these numbers were mentioned by account X Visegrad24, gaining 2.2 million views. Apparently, this post became the basis for Russian-language publications.
Thus, the infographic that shows the United Kingdom leads Europe in rape rates per 100,000 inhabitants distorts the real picture, as it does not take into account differences in legislation, crime reporting practices and cultural realities of European countries.
Cover photo: Telegram
- "UN News". UN report: climate crisis fuels rise in gender-based violence.
- Is it true that the new UK Home Secretary released 1,100 Pakistanis from prison?
- Did Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard say that Muslims living under Sharia law should leave the country?
- Is it true that most crimes in Russia are committed by migrants?
- Is it true that Starmer legalized consanguineous marriages in the UK?
If you find a spelling or grammatical error, please let us know by highlighting the error text and clicking Ctrl+Enter.
