Germany reports over 47,000 weapons missing or stolen from private ownership

By Ayhan Simsek

BERLIN (AA) - More than 47,000 weapons from private owners are registered as stolen or missing in Germany's National Weapons Register, according to local media reports on Thursday.

The latest Interior Ministry figures show 38,277 firearms were reported lost and 9,058 stolen, Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland reported.

The number of missing firearms from private owners has nearly doubled in eight years. In 2018, 19,282 were registered as lost and 5,249 as stolen.

Manuel Ostermann, deputy chairman of the German Police Union, called the number of stolen firearms alarming. "Ruthless criminals are at work here," he told the Bild newspaper. He warned that the weapons likely end up on the black market and that stopping the illegal trade would require more funding, expanded powers and specialized personnel for police.

The most recent data shows about 5 million firearms were legally owned by private owners, including hunters, sports shooters, and collectors at the end of December 2025.