An estimated 1.4 million private-sector establishments in Mexico were victims of crime in 2025, according to a newly released national survey that also puts the economic cost of insecurity and crime at 115.1 billion pesos.
The National Institute of Statistics and Geography, known as INEGI, estimated that the affected establishments experienced about three million crimes. Its survey found that insecurity also influenced business decisions: 14.5 per cent of establishments cancelled investments during the year.
The cost estimate combines money spent on prevention with losses from crimes. It was equivalent to 0.46 per cent of Mexico’s gross domestic product, a measure of the economy’s output. It should not be read as the value of cancelled investment alone.
Prevention costs and business decisions
Preventive measures accounted for 51.2 per cent of the estimated cost, while losses from crime made up the remaining 48.8 per cent. The division captures two different pressures on businesses: the impact of offences and the money they spend seeking to avoid them.
As well as cancelled investments, the survey found that 17.6 per cent of establishments reduced production or sales hours. Another 19.2 per cent stopped or reduced their use of cash, 8.2 per cent stopped doing business with other companies, and 5.7 per cent cancelled distribution routes.
These reported changes relate both to crimes businesses had suffered and to efforts to prevent victimisation. The results do not establish that every investment was cancelled after a particular offence, or that each affected establishment experienced every type of disruption.
Investment cancellations varied across the country. In Tabasco, 32.1 per cent of establishments reported cancelling investment, compared with 27.4 per cent in Morelos and 23.9 per cent in Puebla.
Crimes and reporting
Extortion was the most frequent offence in the survey’s estimates, with approximately 787,000 cases in 2025. About 91 per cent of those cases were by telephone. The figures concern estimated incidents against establishments, not a count of convictions or a finding against any particular group.
INEGI said 91.8 per cent of estimated crimes fell into the survey’s hidden figure: they were either not reported to prosecutors or did not result in an investigation being opened. That definition is wider than crimes that were never reported.
The survey estimated that 9.9 per cent of crimes were reported and 8.2 per cent resulted in an investigation file. The gap matters because reporting an incident and authorities opening an investigation are separate stages.
Medium-sized establishments had the highest estimated victimisation rate, at 51.9 per cent, followed by large establishments at 48.4 per cent. By sector, commerce had the highest proportion affected, at 30.5 per cent.
What the survey measures
The figures were published on 10 November and describe crimes in 2025, rather than incidents on the publication date. The proportion of establishments estimated to have been victims was 25.9 per cent in 2025, compared with 27.2 per cent in 2023.
It is the eighth edition of the survey, which is conducted every two years. Its sample comprises 36,442 economic units and covers private-sector activity in industry, commerce and services. The institute uses the sample to produce estimates for the country and its states; the results are not a complete list of individual criminal cases.
The survey also asked about perceptions of security between March and May 2026. During that period, 71.2 per cent of establishments considered their state unsafe, while 54.8 per cent considered transporting goods by road unsafe. Those answers describe how respondents viewed conditions at the time of the survey, rather than incidents counted for 2025.
