But there was an increase in crimes of dishonesty such as housebreaking and shoplifting, the first such rise for a decade.
In addition, the already poor clear-up rate for rape and attempted rape -- which has prompted comments from Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini -- fell by 9%.
Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said: "We are committed to taking the action needed to drive crime down further and for the long term.
"There will be no let up in our blitz on bevvy and blades as we work with the Violence Reduction Unit on tougher enforcement and changing attitudes to knife carrying as well as tackling the gang culture.
"We are also tackling the underlying causes of crime -- drink, drugs and deprivation, and through the Serious Organised Crime Taskforce we are supporting the police in smashing the criminal gangs using our communities to peddle illegal drugs."
The main findings of Recorded Crime in Scotland 2008-09 included:
2% drop in the total number of crimes.
2% drop in violent crimes.
3% drop in sexual crimes, including a 9% reduction in recorded cases of rape and attempted rape.
7% drop in vandalism.
4% drop in motoring offences, including 15% reduction in speeding.
9% rise in break-ins and 10 % rise in shoplifting.
Clear-up rate for recorded crime up 1% to 49%.
The figures also showed the second consecutive annual rise in crimes of indecency.
Two years ago the Prostitution (Public Places) Act was introduced, which criminalised soliciting a prostitute for sex and loitering for the same purpose. Indecency crimes have risen by 42% in 2008-09 to 266.
Drugs crimes are also up 4%. The number of cases of illegal cultivation of drugs rose by 24% to 609 and drug dealing was up 4% to 9697.
All the country’s police forces showed some decrease in crimes recorded last year, ranging from a marginal fall in Northern and Lothian and Borders to an 11% decrease in Dumfries and Galloway. The clear-up rate was 45% in both Strathclyde and Lothian and Borders, but within that there were anomalies such as East Dunbartonshire and East Renfrewshire at 36% and 39% respectively.
A spokeswoman for Strathclyde Police said: "Serious assaults are down, which is in part due to the continuing drive against violence on the streets of Strathclyde.
"Clear up rates must be taken in context and therefore we can expect markedly different rates across different
areas within the force. These figures will be examined over the coming weeks."
Labour claimed local variations amounted to a postcode lottery on crime, while Scotland was slipping behind the UK as a whole. Labour spokesman Richard Baker said: "We know violent crime is going up in some areas of Scotland and that is deeply concerning."
Bill Aitken of the Conservatives said: "This improvement is largely due to the Scottish Conservatives insisting on 1000 more police to keep Scotland safer."
LibDem spokesman Robert Brown said: "It is worrying that crimes of dishonesty, like shoplifting, housebreaking and fraud have bucked the national trend and are on the rise."
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