List of countries by murder rate

The list of countries by UNODC homicide rate is typically expressed in units of deaths per 100,000 individuals per year. A mortality rate of 30 (out of 100,000) in a population of 100,000 would mean 30 deaths per year in that entire population, or 0.03% out of the total. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Map and table of rates and counts. Pick a country (or countries) in the sidebar "Country" dropdown menu. Then pick a year (1990-2018). Click that country on the map to see a timeline graph of homicide rates. Below the map see a timeline table of the rates and counts for that country or countries. There is a "Bulk data download" link at top right (hover to see name). May need to click twice to download. The reliability of underlying national murder rate data may vary. See page 7 for section called "Definition of the offence of homicide". See page 29 for table of nations and homicide rates for the years 1994–97. It also has further info on how homicide is defined across countries. Only UNODC data is used in the main table below. In some cases it may not be as up to date as other sources. See further down as to why its data is used over other sources.

Research suggests that intentional homicide demographics are affected by changes in trauma care, leading to changed lethality of violent assaults, so the intentional homicide rate may not necessarily indicate the overall level of societal violence. From the abstract: "we assembled evidence from national data sources to show that the principal explanation of the downward trend in lethality involves parallel developments in medical technology and related medical support services that have suppressed the homicide rate compared to what it would be had such progress not been made." They may also be under-reported for political reasons.

A study undertaken by the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development estimated that there were approximately 490,000 intentional homicides in 2004. The study estimated that the global rate was 7.6 intentional homicides per 100,000 inhabitants for 2004. UNODC calculated a rate of 6.9 in 2010. UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) reported a global average intentional homicide rate of 6.2 per 100,000 population for 2012 (in their report titled "Global Study on Homicide 2013").Intentional homicide count and rate per 100,000 population, by country/territory (2000–2012)
Data (in spreadsheet format) for UNODC report titled "Global Study on Homicide 2013". United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Linked fro
Global Study on Homicide – Data: UNODC Homicide Statistics 2013
/ref> In the 2019 edition, the global rate was estimated at 6.1 per 100,000 for 2017. Global Study on Homicide 2019. Booklet 2
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). See page 11 for global rate. See page 9 about homicide rates as proxy for overall violence. See Box 1 on page 14 for criminal justice data sources versus public health sources. See figure 2 on page 14 for regional homicide rates in 2017. See figure 3 on page 16 for regional number of homicides. See page 85 about the six-booklet format of this study. Look for page numbers on the bottom of pages, and ignore the incorrect page numbers provided by your PDF reader.

Definition

Intentional homicide is defined by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in its ''Global Study on Homicide'' report thus:

Though some discrepancies exist in how specific categories of intentional killings are classified, the definitions used by countries to record data are generally close to the UNODC definition, making the homicide rates highly comparable at the international level. UNODC uses the homicide rate as a proxy for overall violence, as this type of crime is one of the most accurately reported and internationally comparable indicators.

Figures from the Global Study on Homicide are based on the UNODC Homicide Statistics dataset, which is derived from the criminal justice or public health systems of a variety of countries and territories. The homicide rates derived from criminal justice data (typically recorded by police authorities) and the public health system data (recorded when the cause of death is established) may diverge substantially for some countries. The two sources usually match in the Americas, Europe and Oceania, but there are large discrepancies for the three African countries reporting both sources. For the 70 countries in which neither source was made available, figures were derived from WHO statistical models.

Deaths resulting from an armed conflict between states are never included in the count. Killings caused by a non-international armed conflict may or may not be included, depending on the intensity of hostilities and whether it is classified as 'civil unrest' or a clash between organized armed groups.

UNODC's global study

All data in this section comes from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) website.

By region

By country, region, or dependent territory

The regions and subregions in the table are based on the United Nations geoscheme since the table sources are United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reports. The U.N. recognizes that variabilities in the quality and integrity of data provided by certain countries may minimize country murder rates.

There is a total yearly count of homicides for each country. Rates are calculated per 100,000 inhabitants. According to its most recent compilation of statistics, the report found that Nigeria was the country with the most homicides by count.

* in Location column indicates a dedicated article about crime in the specific country or area.

Source abbreviations explained

Other studies

A 2020 study by InSight Crime found that Jamaica had the highest homicide rate in Latin America and the Caribbean, while Venezuela had the second highest rate.

On the other side, Asturias region, in Northern Spain, has one of world's lowest homicide rates. With a population of 1 million people, it registered only 1 homicide during full year 2021. Its biggest city, Gijón, with more than 250,000 inhabitants, has not registered a homicide since February 2020 (as of June 2022), before COVID-19 lockdown.

See also

References

Sources

* Look for page numbers on the bottom of pages, and ignore the incorrect page numbers provided by your PDF reader.

External links

The Homicide Monitor map
Made by Brazil-based think tank, The Igarapé Institute.

{{Race and crime

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Murder by country
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