The full extent of stabbings and robberies at knifepoint is made clear in the country's first census of knife crime.
Police recorded 5,023 serious knife crimes in England and Wales in the first three months after they began to count the offences as a separate crime category last spring. It is equivalent to about 400 offences per week.
The highest rate is in London, where every resident has a one-in-1,100 chance of falling victim over the course of a year.
Londoners stand more chance of being stabbed or robbed at knifepoint than of being killed or seriously injured in a road accident.
Manchester and Birmingham are near the top of the league with shire counties having much lower rates of knife crime. However, Bedfordshire, a predominantly rural county, reports the third-worst rate.
The findings give the clearest picture yet of the extent of the "knife culture" on the nation's streets. The statistics, compiled in line with Home Office instructions, include only such serious offences as attempted murder, wounding and knifepoint robbery.
Totals would have been higher had ministers not told forces to exclude thousands of less serious offences, including possession of knives and stabbings that caused only minor injuries.
David Davis, the shadow home secretary, said: "These shocking figures betray the desperate state of violent crime under this Government. The Home Secretary says violent crime is down, but the figures show almost three serious knife crimes committed every hour. Labour's denial of the problem is part of the problem."
Until April, official statistics counted knife offences with other assaults involving weapons, making it harder to detect emerging trends.
Police began to keep a separate tally of serious knife crimes after a series of high-profile stabbings earlier this year.
Kodjo Yenga, 16, a youth team footballer with Queens Park Rangers, was killed in Hammersmith, west London, in March. Three days later, Adam Regis, 15, the nephew of John Regis, the former Olympic sprinter, died in Plaistow, east London.
The new figures were obtained from 37 of the 43 forces in England and Wales under the Freedom of Information Act. The remaining six, mostly smaller forces, said they were unable to provide data.
Adjusting for the missing areas, and adding in an estimated 50 knife murders which were excluded under Home Office counting rules, there were an estimated 5,450 serious knife offences during the three-month period, equivalent to one offence every 24 minutes or more than 21,000 over a full year.
Police in Bedfordshire said the figures were high because crime levels in Luton, the biggest town, were on a par with parts of London. Luton has the fourth-highest immigration rate of any town outside London, and a senior police officer claimed that the trend was fuelling crime.
Chief Supt Nicky Dahl said: "Knife crime is a real concern. There is a culture of young people carrying knives and we need to change that culture.
"When the census was taken in 2001, we had a population of 180,000. It is now far in excess of that. More than 2,500 Poles alone have arrived, with many arrested for drinking and violent offences."
