Bike theft in Austria: the numbers, and how to keep your bike out of them

According to the Interior Ministry's (BMI) Kriminalstatistik 2025, presented on 31 March 2026, 16,932 bike thefts were reported in 2025. The 2024 figure was 19,455, so 2025 is about 13 percent lower. The VCÖ, the Austrian mobility club, citing BMI data, notes that 2025 is the second-lowest year since 2000. Only 2022 was lower, at 16,824.

The less welcome part: 1,570 cases were solved in 2025. That is a clearance rate of 9.3 percent, fewer than one case in ten (APA report of 11 April 2026, citing BMI).

The VCÖ reports that about two thirds of stolen bikes disappear in the provincial capitals. By federal state, Vienna leads by a wide margin with 5,913 reported thefts, and it is also the state with the biggest fall in absolute terms, 1,096 cases fewer than in 2024. In percentage terms the sharpest drops were in Lower Austria (−23.6 percent), Upper Austria (−22.2 percent), Carinthia (−27.3 percent) and Burgenland (−29.3 percent). Only Styria (+6.3 percent) and Salzburg (+4.0 percent) saw more thefts than the year before.

Adjust for population and the picture flips. Per 10,000 residents, the 2025 hotspot was again not Vienna but the city of Salzburg with 66 thefts, ahead of Innsbruck (55), Graz (49), Klagenfurt (45) and Linz (44). Vienna comes in at 29, the lowest of the six provincial capitals (source: APA report of 11 April 2026).

In 2025, 5,913 bike thefts were reported in Vienna and 325 of them were solved. That is 5.5 percent, lower than the national rate of 9.3 percent.

The districts differ a lot. In absolute numbers Leopoldstadt leads with 707 reported thefts and Hietzing has the fewest with 74. Per resident it looks different: at 115 thefts per 10,000 residents the Innere Stadt (1st district) is far ahead of every other district, even ahead of the city of Salzburg (66). That is mostly because very few people live in the 1st district while very many work, shop and visit there, so a rate per resident overstates the risk in the inner districts. Districts 1 to 9 hold the top nine places between them, and the outer residential districts sit at the bottom of the list.

The thefts per district come from oe24's report (10 April 2026), the population figures from Statistik Austria (1 January 2025, table by the City of Vienna). The rates per 10,000 residents are Pedalia's own calculation from those figures, not official police statistics. The 23 district figures as published add up to 5,914, one more than the Vienna total of 5,913, as they stand in the source.

According to the BMI, bikes were the item most often stolen in cellar break-ins in 2025, ahead of tools, e-bikes and e-scooters. Cellar break-ins overall rose by 7.8 percent, from 9,406 in 2024 to 10,139 in 2025.

The advice from ÖAMTC and VCÖ comes down to a few points:

• Lock the frame to something fixed, not just the front wheel. A lock through the wheel alone leaves the thief the rest of the bike.
• The lock matters. U-locks and armoured cable locks are strong. Simple cable locks are easy prey.
• Take loose parts with you. Remove lights and saddle, or replace quick releases with security bolts.
• Fill in a Fahrradpass right after buying. This bike passport records manufacturer, model, frame number and distinguishing features, and is available from the Bundeskriminalamt website and at police stations. Keep photos of the bike too.
• Consider theft insurance for a valuable bike.

1. Report the theft to the police.
2. Tell your insurer.
3. Search the surrounding streets and ask at the local lost-property office (Fundamt).
4. Keep an eye on classified ads: stolen bikes often reappear for sale soon after the theft.

That last point cuts both ways: nobody buying a used bike wants a stolen one. Ask the seller for the frame number and the purchase receipt, and compare the number with the one stamped on the bike. Be wary of a price far below market value, or a seller who cannot explain the bike's history. Pedalia does not check frame numbers or verify ownership; that part is up to you when you buy. More in our help article How do I buy a used bike safely?. And if you are looking, the bike search on Pedalia is a click away.