Homicides
Homicides — when people intentionally and illegally kill others for personal reasons — are the most serious crime.
They are a common cause of death globally and a leading cause of death in some countries.
They not only rob the victims of their lives: they also hurt the victims’ friends and families, they harm the broader community, and they may burden the perpetrators themselves and lead to their imprisonment or execution.
This page provides data and research on how frequent homicides are, how this differs across countries, and whether they are becoming less common over time.
Research & Writing
Homicide data: how sources differ and when to use which one
There are several ways to measure homicides. What approaches do different sources take? And when is which approach best?
Causes of death globally: what do people die from?
To make progress towards a healthier world we need to have a good understanding of what health problems we face today.
Interactive Charts on Homicides
Homicide rateUNODC
Distribution of homicide ratesUNODC
Homicide rates over the long term
Causes of deathIHME
Homicide rate across sources
HomicidesUNODC
Causes of death in 15- to 49-year-olds
Child homicide rateUNICEF
Child homicide rateWHO Mortality Database
Female homicide rateUNODC
Female homicide victimsUNODC
Homicide rateWHO Mortality Database, Age-standardized
Homicide rateWHO Mortality Database
Homicide rateWHO-GHE
Homicide rateIHME, age-standardized
Homicide rateIHME
Homicide rate by age of the victimIHME
Homicide rate by age of the victimWHO Mortality Database
Homicide rate from firearmsUNODC
Homicide rate in 1990 vs. 2020UNODC
Homicide rate vs. GDP per capitaUNODC
Homicide rate where the perpetrator is an intimate partnerUNODC
Homicide rate, IHME vs. WHO Mortality Database
Homicide rate, UNODC vs. IHME
Homicide rate, WHO vs. UNODC
Homicide rate, by sex of the victimUNODC
HomicidesIHME
HomicidesWHO-GHE
HomicidesWHO Mortality Database
Homicides by age of the victimIHME
Homicides by firearmUNODC
Homicides, by sex of the victimUNODC
Male homicide rateUNODC
Male homicide victimsUNODC
Share of deaths from homicideWHO Mortality Database
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Our articles and data visualizations rely on work from many different people and organizations. When citing this topic page, please also cite the underlying data sources. This topic page can be cited as:
Bastian Herre, Fiona Spooner and Max Roser (2013) - “Homicides” Published online at OurWorldInData.org. Retrieved from: 'https://ourworldindata.org/homicides' [Online Resource]BibTeX citation
@article{owid-homicides,
author = {Bastian Herre and Fiona Spooner and Max Roser},
title = {Homicides},
journal = {Our World in Data},
year = {2013},
note = {https://ourworldindata.org/homicides}
}
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