ULAN BATOR, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- The crime rate in Mongolia has increased by nearly 24 percent so far this year, the country's National Statistical Office (NSO) said Friday.

A total of 28,600 criminal cases were recorded in the January-September period, with crime up 23.9% so far this year.

In the first three quarters of the year, a total of 24,800 people fell victims to various crimes, almost 50 percent of whom were children and women.

The crime rate per 10,000 people aged 18 or older was 139, an increase of 20.9 percent year-on-year.