Countries by murder rate – ranked

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A global index of countries by murder rate, measured by intentional homicides per 100,000 people, using the latest UN data.

A policeman in El Salvador, the country with highest murder rate
A policeman in El Salvador, the country with highest murder rate (Shutterstock)

According to the United Nations 2019 Global Study on Homicide report, homicide kills considerably more people than armed conflict.

Intentional homicides are defined by the UN as:

“Unlawful homicides purposely inflicted as a result of domestic disputes, interpersonal violence, violent conflicts over land resources, intergang violence over turf or control and predatory violence and killing by armed groups.”

UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

Intentional homicide does not include all intentional killing such as killing during armed conflict.

10 countries with the highest and lowest murder rates

Highest murder rates

  1. El Salvador
  2. Jamaica
  3. Venezuela
  4. Honduras
  5. Lesotho
  6. Belize
  7. St. Vincent & Gren.
  8. South Africa
  9. St. Kitts & Nevis
  10. Trinidad & Tobago

Key findings from the report

  • The 2017 average global murder rate was 6.1 homicides per 100,000 people.
  • The global homicide rate decreased from 7.2 in 1992 to 6.1 in 2017.
  • The rate in the Americas (17.2) is the highest recorded in the region since reliable records began in 1990.
  • Africa’s murder rate (13.0) is also above the global average.
  • Asia, Europe and Oceania all have a murder rate below the global average: 2.3, 3.0 and 2.8 respectively.
  • 81% of homicide victims recorded in 2017 were male.
  • 90% of suspects in homicide incidents were male.
  • Latin America and Caribbean countries have nine of 10 highest homicide rates in the world.
  • Organized crime alone was responsible for up to 19% of all homicides in 2017.
A map of countries by murder rate

Countries by murder rate – complete ranking

The table below ranks the world’s countries by their murder rate using intentional homicides per 100,000 people.

It draws on the latest data available from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime’s International Homicide Statistics database made available through the World Bank.

Some countries have been omitted due to insufficient or unreliable data.

RankCountryYearRate
1El Salvador201761.8
2Jamaica201757
3Venezuela201656.3
4Honduras201741.7
5Lesotho201541.2
6Belize201737.9
7St. Vincent & Gren.201636.5
8South Africa201735.9
9St. Kitts & Nevis201234.2
10Trinidad & Tobago201530.9
11The Bahamas201730.9
12Brazil201730.5
13St. Lucia201729.6
14Guatemala201726.1
15Dominica201725.7
16Colombia201724.9
17Mexico201724.8
18Central African Rep.201619.8
19Tuvalu201218.6
20Puerto Rico201718.5
21Namibia201217.1
22Botswana201015.0
23Guyana201714.8
24South Sudan201213.9
25Seychelles201612.7
26Costa Rica201712.3
27Cabo Verde201611.5
28Dominican Rep.201711.3
29Grenada201711.1
30Uganda201711.0
31Barbados201710.5
32Antigua & Barbuda201210.3
33Papua New Guinea201010.0
34Iraq20139.9
35Panama20179.7
36Haiti20169.5
37Eswatini20179.5
38Russia20179.2
39Paraguay20168.9
40Cayman Is.20148.4
41Philippines20178.4
42Uruguay20178.2
43Bermuda20178.2
44Peru20177.7
45Kiribati20127.5
46Nicaragua20167.4
47Afghanistan20177.1
48Yemen20136.7
49Zimbabwe20126.7
50Bolivia20166.3
51Ukraine20176.2
52Tanzania20166.2
53Mongolia20176.2
54Turks & Caicos Is.20146
55Burundi20165.9
56Ecuador20175.8
57Suriname20175.5
58American Samoa20165.4
59USA20175.3
60Zambia20155.3
61Greenland20165.3
62Sudan20085.2
63Argentina20175.1
64Kazakhstan20175
65Cuba20165
66Kenya20175
67Angola20124.8
68Lithuania20174.5
69Niger20124.4
70Turkey20124.3
71Chile20174.3
72Latvia20174.2
73Kyrgyz Rep.20174.2
74Pakistan20174.2
75Turkmenistan20064.2
76Lebanon20164
77Marshall Is.19944
78Solomon Islands20084
79Timor-Leste20153.9
80Belarus20143.6
81Sao Tome & Principe20113.4
82Mozambique20113.4
83Thailand20163.2
84Liberia20123.2
85New Caledonia20093.2
86Moldova20143.2
87Samoa20133.1
88India20163
89Tunisia20123
90Iran20142.5
91Egypt20122.5
92Hungary20172.5
93Rwanda20152.5
94Armenia20172.4
95Montenegro20172.4
96Albania20172.3
97Sri Lanka20172.3
98Fiji20142.3
99Myanmar20162.3
100Syria20102.2
101Nepal20162.2
102Estonia20172.2
103Bangladesh20172.2
104Kosovo20162.1
105Malaysia20132.1
106Morocco20172.1
107Ghana20172.1
108Azerbaijan20172
109Aruba20141.9
110Kuwait20121.8
111Cambodia20111.8
112Canada20171.8
113Mauritius20161.8
114Sierra Leone20151.7
115Malawi20121.7
116Belgium20171.7
117Tajikistan20111.6
118Bhutan20171.6
119Slovakia20171.5
120North Macedonia20171.5
121Vietnam20111.5
122Romania20171.5
123Bulgaria20171.5
124Jordan20171.4
125Algeria20151.4
126Cameroon20171.4
127Israel20151.4
128Saudi Arabia20171.3
129France20171.3
130Burkina Faso20171.3
131Denmark20171.2
132Finland20171.2
133UK20171.2
134Bosnia & Herz.20171.2
135Sweden20171.1
136Uzbekistan20171.1
137Croatia20171.1
138Guinea-Bissau20171.1
139Serbia20171.1
140Benin20171.1
141Germany20171
142Tonga20121
143Georgia20161
144Ireland20170.9
145Iceland20170.9
146Malta20150.9
147Slovenia20170.9
148Australia20170.8
149Netherlands20170.8
150Maldives20130.8
151Poland20170.8
152Austria20160.7
153New Zealand20170.7
154Spain20170.7
155Italy20160.7
156Portugal20170.7
157Greece20170.7
158South Korea20170.6
159Cyprus20170.6
160Czech Rep.20170.6
161China20170.6
162UAE20170.5
163Switzerland20170.5
164Norway20170.5
165Oman20170.5
166Bahrain20140.5
167Brunei Darussalam20130.5
168Qatar20140.4
169Indonesia20170.4
170Macao SAR20170.3
171Hong Kong SAR20170.3
172Luxembourg20170.3
173Singapore20170.2
174Japan20170.2
175Andorra20150
176Liechtenstein20160
177San Marino20110
178Monaco20150

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators