Natural Resource Depletion Crime Rates by Country 2026

Environmental crimes involving natural resource depletion pose serious threats to ecosystems and sustainable development. This analysis presents crime rates for acts resulting in depletion or degradation of natural resources per 100,000 population across 40 countries, based on official data reported to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

What Are Natural Resource Depletion Crimes?

This category encompasses criminal acts that damage or exhaust natural resources:

• Illegal logging – Unauthorized harvesting of forests
• Illegal mining – Extracting minerals without permits
• Overfishing violations – Exceeding catch limits or fishing in protected areas
• Water resource crimes – Illegal extraction or contamination of water sources
• Land degradation – Activities causing soil erosion or desertification

[TABLE2|title=Natural Resource Depletion Crime Rates by Country Per 100k Population]

Interpreting the Statistics

These rates reflect prosecuted cases, which depend heavily on monitoring capabilities and enforcement priorities. Countries with strong environmental agencies, satellite monitoring, and dedicated environmental courts report higher rates. Remote areas where illegal extraction often occurs may have limited oversight, meaning actual resource crimes significantly exceed reported figures.

Key Findings

Malta leads with 61.15 per 100,000 in 2022, though this represents a decrease from 110 in 2021. As a small island nation, Malta has limited natural resources and strict protection measures, leading to high detection rates for violations.

Costa Rica (31.82) and Norway (28.77) show consistently high rates, reflecting strong environmental protection frameworks. Both countries have significant natural resources and active enforcement programs.

Romania (21.3) showed an increase from 15.06 in 2020, indicating strengthened enforcement of illegal logging laws in its extensive forests.

Mongolia experienced a dramatic increase from 0.91 in 2020 to 14.56 in 2022, suggesting new enforcement initiatives against illegal mining or land degradation.

Nordic countries maintain significant rates: Denmark (22.92), Sweden (7.28), and Finland (4.54), reflecting comprehensive environmental monitoring systems.

Latin American countries with vast natural resources show varying rates: Guatemala (8.15), Colombia (3.55), Ecuador (2.06), and Peru (1.0), indicating different enforcement capacities across the region.

Natural Resource Depletion Crime Rates by Country Per 100k Population

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#	Country	2020	2021	2022
1	Malta	75.26	110	61.15
2	Costa Rica	29.86	34.33	31.82
3	Norway	31.79	29.81	28.77
4	Denmark	22.14	26.6	22.92
5	Romania	15.06	16.7	21.3
6	Albania	14.03	15.19	14.96
7	Mongolia	0.91	0.99	14.56
8	Latvia	17.25	12.68	11.32
9	Serbia	8.32	7.39	10.07
10	Guatemala	8.31	8.61	8.15
11	Sweden	14.07	8.34	7.28
12	France	5.08	5.47	6.35
13	Zimbabwe	-	-	5.41
14	Finland	5.32	4.48	4.54
15	Colombia	2.13	2.91	3.55
16	Slovakia	5.72	4.26	3.29
17	Slovenia	3.19	2.6	2.74
18	Croatia	2.58	2.78	2.51
19	Honduras	-	5.11	2.19
20	Ecuador	1.59	1.68	2.06
21	Hungary	2.29	2.24	2.04
22	Poland	2.49	2.47	1.71
23	Spain	0.88	1.06	1.1
24	Belgium	1.58	1.35	0.99
25	Estonia	1.13	1.73	0.89
26	Chile	0.72	1.48	0.39
27	Japan	0.45	0.41	0.38
28	Italy	0.19	0.29	0.19
29	Austria	0.13	0.18	0.17
30	Lithuania	0.29	0.32	0.14
31	Mexico	0.02	0.09	0.05
32	Germany	0.12	0.06	0.04
33	Netherlands	0.03	0	0
34	Montenegro	-	16.23	-
35	Azerbaijan	1.78	1.92	-
36	Panama	1.47	1.5	-
37	Algeria	1.1	1.34	-
38	Peru	0.72	1	-
39	Bosnia and Herzegovina	-	0.28	-
40	El Salvador	0.08	0.08	-

Data Source

• Raw Data: UNODC - Corruption and Economic Crime Statistics
• Unit: Rate per 100,000 population
• Years covered: 2020, 2021, 2022
• Countries included: 40 countries with available data