A total of 34,840 crimes were committed in Bulgaria in 2006, National Statistical Institute (NSI) data shows. A year ago their number was 32,398, and in 2004 – 31,831.

Crimes which ended with trial were 25,973 in number, 8,581 of which were punished with suspended sentence.

The number of convicted persons hit a seven-year maximum last year (30,595 people), 3,009 of them were minor.

The three most common crimes were theft, management order violations and transport and communication crime.

The biggest share in the total number of convicted was the group of people between 18 and 29 years of age (50.47%), followed by the group 30-39 years (22.06%), and 40-49 years (11.29%).