Charted: The World’s Highest Homicide Rates, in Each Region

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35 seconds ago

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June 8, 2024

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The World’s Highest Homicide Rates, by Region

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A rise in organized crime and the spread of illegal weapons are fueling violent deaths globally.

While there are varying trends across regions, the worldwide homicide rate reached 5.8 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2022. Overall, firearms were the leading cause of these deaths.

This graphic shows the world’s highest homicide rates by region, based on data from UNODC.

Countries With the Highest Homicide Rates

Here are the countries or territories with the highest homicide rate per 100,000 inhabitants in each region:

RegionRankCountryHomicide Rate per 100,000 People South America & Caribbean1🇯🇲 Jamaica53.3 2🇻🇨 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines40.4 3🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago39.5 Africa1🇿🇦 South Africa34.0 2🇳🇬 Nigeria21.7 3🇸🇿 Eswatini12.7 North America1🇲🇽 Mexico26.1 2🇧🇲 Bermuda10.9 3🇺🇸 United States of America6.4 Asia1🇮🇶 Iraq (Central Iraq)15.4 2🇲🇳 Mongolia6.2 3🇵🇭 Philippines4.3 Europe1🇷🇺 Russia6.8 2🇱🇮 Liechtenstein5.1 3🇺🇦 Ukraine3.8 Oceania1🇬🇺 Guam4.2 2🇫🇯 Fiji2.2 3🇹🇴 Tonga1.0 World5.8

All data is for 2022 except for South Africa, where data is as of 2020.

The highest homicide rates globally are found in the South America and Caribbean region, with the majority of homicides driven by crime-related activities.

Going further, the region is home to three of the world’s deadliest countries. With a murder rate of 53.3 per 100,000 people, Jamaica’s deadly violence is more than eight times as high as America. In recent years, a surge of illegal firearms have entered the country, with the majority of these weapons smuggled out of the U.S., particularly from Florida.

Following Jamaica are the island nations of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago. These two countries are known hubs for Venezuelan cocaine traffickers that transit illegal drugs to the U.S. and Europe.

Mexico ranks as the most dangerous country in North America, with more than 30,000

How Homicide Rates by U.S. State Have Changed Since 2012

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7 seconds ago

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June 7, 2024 Article/Editing:

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How Homicide Rates by State Have Changed Since 2012

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Are the United States getting more dangerous or more safe? The answer partially depends on your metric of choice.

For example, by examining homicide rates by state from 2012 to 2022, it can be seen that rates have increased almost across the board. That said, they are still lower than rates seen in the 1980s and 1990s.

This graphic from USAFacts examines the age-adjusted homicide rates by state from 2012 to 2022, and how they’ve changed. It uses CDC data available for 46 states, with no data available for New Hampshire, North Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming.

Comparing States by Homicide Rates

From 2012 to 2022, homicide rates increased in every state with available data except for Connecticut, New Jersey, and Rhode Island. Here are the rates for all 46 available states as well as their 10-year change in percentage:

StateHomicide rate
(2022, age-adjusted per 100,000)10-Year Change
(2012–2022) Mississippi20.7+103% Louisiana19.8+64% Alabama14.9+71% New Mexico14.5+120% Missouri12.8+75% Arkansas11.8+39% South Carolina11.8+44% Maryland11.4+61% Georgia11.3+74% Tennessee11.0+49% Illinois10.9+68% Alaska10.2+104% North Carolina9.2+56% Arizona9.0+45% Pennsylvania8.9+53% Michigan8.6+10% Ohio8.5+49% Indiana8.4+53% Kentucky8.3+48% Oklahoma8.3+14% Nevada7.8+73% Virginia7.8+90% Texas7.6+49% Colorado7.2+85% Florida7.2+11% Delaware7.0+1% South Dakota6.9+188% West Virginia6.2+5% Wisconsin6.0+71% California5.9+13% Kansas5.8+53% Montana5.4+125% Washington5.4+64% Oregon5.1+82% New York4.5+22% Connecticut4.3-2.3% Minnesota3.8+90% New Jersey3.8-20.8% Nebraska3.7+6% Hawaii3.0+100% Iowa2.9+38% Idaho2.7+23% Maine2.6+8% Massachusetts2.5+25% Utah2.2+29% Rhode Island2.0-33.3%
Note: Age-adjusted data helps to compare health data over time or between groups more fairly by accounting for the age differences in populations.

Mississippi had the largest increase in homicide rate,