VIENNA, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Austria has seen a 7.4 percent drop in the number of crimes in 2018, down to a total of 472,981, the first time in 20 years to be below 500,000, new figures from the Interior Ministry revealed on Thursday.

And 52.5 percent of crimes were solved by the authorities, local media reported.

Violent crimes were down by over four percent compared to 2017, while property-related crimes such as burglaries decreased 12 percent.

Cybercrimes were once again up, however, in keeping with trends in recent years, increasing 16.8 percent.

Interior Minister Herbert Kickl said he was "very proud" of the result that had been achieved, though he also proposed new measures in certain problem areas.