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Public Security > Homicide Monitor
Homicide
Monitor
Distribution, dimensions and dynamics
of lethal violence in the world
The Homicide Monitor, from the Igarapé Institute, is one of the most comprehensive publicly available datasets on murder in the world.
It covers 219 countries and territories, with a focus on the Americas, where information is updated by 2023 for most countries. Find highlights below.
Just 5 countries – Brazil, Nigeria, Mexico, India and South Africa – accounted for 40% of all homicides worldwide. The top 10 countries recorded over 53% of all global homicides.
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The relatively “stable” levels of homicide registered across LAC in 2023 are in contrast to previous years.
Between 2019 and 2020, homicides declined by 3%. Between 2018 and 2019, homicides dropped by 10%.
The slowdown in homicide reduction appears to have started during COVID-19. Indeed, homicide declined by just 1% across LAC between 2020 and 2022.
The Monitor estimates a homicide rate of 19.6 (per 100,000 inhabitants) for the Latin America and the Caribbean region in 2023, with rates rising to 21.1 in The Caribbean and 20.9 in Central America.
Latin America and the Caribbean had 8% of the global population but accounted for 29% of all homicides in 2022.
Top 13 of countries by homicide rate
comparison 2022-2023
Considering the number of victims,
Brazil was the world’s most homicidal country in 2023.
The top 5 countries
(Brazil, Nigeria, Mexico, India and South Africa) accounted for 40% of global homicides.
Homicide concentration
TOP 5
TOP 10
TOP 20
Homicide is concentrated in a relatively small number of countries
Among the 30 world cities with the highest homicide rates:
Homicide as
an affliction
of youth
41%
of total homicide victims are
aged 17 to 30 across countries in LAC
87%
of LAC homicide victims are male, compared to the global average of 81% (UNODC)
Firearms
73%
of homicides are committed with firearms in LAC. Worldwide the figure is 40% (UNODC)
Change by Evolution homicide rate 2017-2023
Top 10 cities by homicide rate by 2023
Since 2015, the Igarapé Institute has released a series of Homicide Dispatches, brief analytical papers, in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, explaining lethal violence patterns and trends. The papers are written by international experts to tell the stories behind data. Experts in criminology, public health and other social sciences also contributed to discussions with documents highlighting causes and broad consequences of murders, and different ways governments register homicides.
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