The following list of countries by intentional death rate has been obtained by adding the suicide rate from the World Health Organization and the homicide rate from the UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Study. Intentional deaths include homicide (intentional injury death of another) and suicide (intentional injury death of self).
Based upon various metrics alongside calculations over the course of multiple years, Singapore has the lowest intentional death rate in the world, with Honduras being the highest. [1] [2]
Intentional homicide is defined by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in its Global Study on Homicide report [3] thus:
Within the broad range of violent deaths, the core element of intentional homicide is the complete liability of the direct perpetrator, which thus excludes killings directly related to war or conflicts, self-inflicted death (suicide), killings due to legal interventions or justifiable killings (such as self-defence), and those deaths caused when the perpetrator was reckless or negligent but did not intend to take a human life (non-intentional homicide).
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. [4] 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. [5]
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. [6] 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. [7] The two sources usually match in the Americas, Europe and Oceania, but there are large discrepancies for the three African countries reporting both sources. [8] For the 70 countries in which neither source was made available, figures were derived from WHO statistical models. [7]
Deaths resulting from an armed conflict between states are never included in the count. [9] 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. [9]
Country | Intentional Death | Homicide | Suicide | Ratio (H:S) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Lesotho | 131.1 | 43.6 | 87.5 | 0.50 |
Greenland [14] (more info) | 65.5 | 5.3 | 60.2 | 0.09 |
Guyana (more info) | 60.9 | 20.0 | 40.9 | 0.49 |
South Africa [15] | 57.0 | 33.5 | 23.5 | 1.43 |
Eswatini | 52.1 | 11.6 | 40.5 | 0.29 |
U.S. Virgin Islands | 49.3 | 49.3 | N/A | N/A |
Jamaica | 47.0 | 44.7 | 2.3 | 19.43 |
El Salvador | 43.3 | 37.2 | 6.1 | 6.10 |
Central African Republic | 43.1 | 20.1 | 23.0 | 6.10 |
Nigeria | 41.4 | 34.5 | 6.9 | 0.87 |
Honduras | 38.9 | 36.3 | 2.6 | 13.96 |
Trinidad and Tobago | 38.9 | 30.6 | 8.3 | 3.69 |
Venezuela | 38.8 | 36.7 | 2.1 | 17.48 |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 37.5 | 36.5 | 1.0 | 36.50 |
Saint Kitts and Nevis | 36.1 | 36.1 | 0.0 | N/A |
Botswana | 35.4 | 15.2 | 20.2 | 0.75 |
Mexico | 33.7 | 28.4 | 5.3 | 5.36 |
Belize | 33.4 | 25.7 | 7.7 | 3.34 |
Suriname | 31.3 | 5.4 | 25.9 | 0.21 |
Zimbabwe | 31.1 | 7.5 | 23.6 | 0.32 |
Uruguay | 30.9 | 12.1 | 18.8 | 0.64 |
Kiribati | 30.6 | N/A | 30.6 | N/A |
Micronesia | 29.0 | N/A | 29.0 | N/A |
Russia [16] (more info) | 28.9 | 7.3 | 21.6 | 0.34 |
Guatemala | 28.7 | 22.5 | 6.2 | 3.63 |
Anguilla | 28.3 | 28.3 | N/A | N/A |
Saint Lucia | 28.3 | 21.4 | 6.9 | 3.10 |
Saint Martin | 27.7 | 27.7 | N/A | N/A |
Brazil | 27.3 | 20.9 | 6.4 | 3.27 |
Mozambique | 26.7 | 3.5 | 23.2 | 0.15 |
Colombia | 26.3 | 22.6 | 3.7 | 6.11 |
Puerto Rico | 25.9 | 18.5 | 7.4 | 2.50 |
Namibia | 25.4 | 11.9 | 13.5 | 0.88 |
Mongolia | 24.0 | 6.0 | 18.0 | 0.33 |
Yemen | 23.9 | 6.8 | 7.1 | 0.96 |
Ukraine (more info) | 23.9 | 6.2 | 17.7 | 0.35 |
Lithuania [17] (more info) | 23.9 | 3.7 | 20.2 | 0.18 |
The Bahamas | 22.0 | 18.6 | 3.4 | 5.47 |
South Korea [18] [19] [20] (more info) | 21.8 | 0.6 | 21.2 | 0.03 |
Cape Verde | 21.7 | 6.5 | 15.2 | 0.43 |
South Sudan | 21.6 | 14.9 | 6.7 | 2.22 |
Kazakhstan (more info) | 21.3 | 3.2 | 18.1 | 0.18 |
Vanuatu | 21.0 | N/A | 21.0 | N/A |
Dominica | 20.8 | 20.8 | N/A | N/A |
United States [21] (more info) | 20.8 | 6.3 | 14.5 | 0.43 |
Montserrat | 20.3 | 20.3 | N/A | N/A |
Uganda | 20.1 | 9.7 | 10.4 | 0.93 |
Zambia | 19.8 | 5.4 | 14.4 | 0.38 |
Montenegro | 19.1 | 2.9 | 16.2 | 0.18 |
Curaçao | 19.0 | 19.0 | N/A | N/A |
Belarus [22] [23] | 18.9 | 2.4 | 16.5 | 0.15 |
Costa Rica | 18.8 | 11.2 | 7.6 | 1.47 |
Latvia | 18.7 | 2.6 | 16.1 | 0.16 |
Ethiopia | 18.3 | 8.8 | 9.5 | 0.93 |
Burundi | 18.2 | 6.1 | 12.1 | 0.50 |
Haiti | 17.9 | 6.7 | 11.2 | 0.59 |
Angola | 17.4 | 4.8 | 12.6 | 0.38 |
Solomon Islands | 17.4 | N/A | 17.4 | N/A |
Cameroon | 17.3 | 1.4 | 15.9 | 0.09 |
Eritrea | 17.3 | N/A | 17.3 | N/A |
Seychelles | 17.1 | 12.5 | 4.6 | 2.72 |
Moldova | 16.3 | 4.1 | 12.2 | 0.34 |
India (more info) | 15.9 | 3.0 | 12.9 | 0.23 |
Saint Pierre and Miquelon | 15.8 | 15.8 | N/A | N/A |
Burkina Faso | 15.7 | 1.3 | 14.4 | 0.09 |
Ivory Coast | 15.7 | N/A | 15.7 | N/A |
Belgium | 15.6 | 1.7 | 13.9 | 0.12 |
Ecuador | 15.5 | 7.8 | 7.7 | 1.01 |
Sri Lanka [24] (more info) | 15.3 | 2.4 | 12.9 | 0.19 |
Estonia | 15.3 | 3.2 | 12.0 | 0.27 |
Cuba | 15.2 | 5.0 | 10.2 | 0.49 |
Kenya | 15.0 | 4.0 | 11.0 | 0.36 |
Finland [25] | 15.0 | 1.6 | 13.4 | 0.12 |
Hong Kong | 14.9 | 0.3 | 14.6 | 0.02 |
Iraq | 14.8 | 10.1 | 4.7 | 2.15 |
Togo | 14.8 | N/A | 14.8 | N/A |
Tanzania | 14.7 | 6.5 | 8.2 | 0.79 |
Somalia | 14.7 | N/A | 14.7 | N/A |
Samoa | 14.6 | N/A | 14.6 | N/A |
Niger | 14.5 | 4.4 | 10.1 | 0.44 |
Slovenia [26] | 14.5 | 0.5 | 14.0 | 0.04 |
Dominican Republic | 14.0 | 8.9 | 5.1 | 1.75 |
Panama | 14.0 | 11.1 | 2.9 | 3.83 |
Benin | 13.8 | 1.1 | 12.7 | 0.09 |
Pakistan [27] | 13.7 | 3.9 | 9.8 | 0.40 |
Sweden | 13.6 | 1.2 | 12.4 | 0.10 |
Guinea-Bissau | 13.5 | 1.1 | 12.4 | 0.09 |
Equatorial Guinea | 13.5 | N/A | 13.5 | N/A |
Argentina | 13.4 | 5.3 | 8.1 | 0.65 |
French Guiana | 13.2 | 13.2 | N/A | N/A |
Chad | 13.2 | N/A | 13.2 | N/A |
Gabon | 13.1 | N/A | 13.1 | N/A |
Bolivia | 13.0 | 6.2 | 6.8 | 0.91 |
Sierra Leone | 13.0 | 1.7 | 11.3 | 0.15 |
Paraguay | 12.9 | 6.7 | 6.2 | 1.08 |
New Zealand [28] | 12.9 | 2.6 | 10.3 | 0.25 |
Afghanistan | 12.7 | 6.7 | 6.0 | 1.12 |
Iceland [29] | 12.7 | 1.5 | 11.2 | 0.13 |
Ghana | 12.6 | 2.1 | 10.5 | 0.20 |
Hungary [30] | 12.6 | 0.8 | 11.8 | 0.07 |
Japan (more info) [31] | 12.5 | 0.3 | 12.2 | 0.02 |
Chile | 12.4 | 4.4 | 8.0 | 0.55 |
Malawi | 12.4 | 1.8 | 10.6 | 0.17 |
Norway | 12.4 | 0.6 | 11.8 | 0.05 |
DR Congo | 12.4 | N/A | 12.4 | N/A |
Canada [32] (more info) | 12.3 | 2.0 | 10.3 | 0.19 |
Guinea | 12.3 | N/A | 12.3 | N/A |
Australia [33] | 12.2 | 0.9 | 11.3 | 0.08 |
Rwanda | 12.1 | 2.6 | 9.5 | 0.27 |
Nepal | 12.1 | 2.3 | 9.8 | 0.23 |
Croatia [34] | 12.0 | 1.0 | 11.0 | 0.09 |
Nicaragua | 11.9 | 7.2 | 4.7 | 1.53 |
Djibouti | 11.9 | N/A | 11.9 | N/A |
Mauritius | 11.7 | 2.9 | 8.8 | 0.33 |
Congo | 11.6 | N/A | 11.6 | N/A |
Antigua and Barbuda | 11.4 | 11.1 | 0.3 | 37.00 |
Grenada | 11.4 | 10.8 | 0.6 | 18.00 |
Senegal | 11.3 | 0.3 | 11.0 | 0.03 |
Austria | 11.1 | 0.7 | 10.4 | 0.07 |
France (more info) | 10.9 | 1.2 | 9.7 | 0.12 |
Liberia | 10.7 | 3.3 | 7.4 | 0.45 |
Peru | 10.6 | 7.9 | 2.7 | 2.93 |
Thailand | 10.6 | 2.6 | 8.0 | 0.33 |
Kyrgyzstan | 10.5 | 2.2 | 8.3 | 0.27 |
Slovakia [30] | 10.5 | 1.2 | 9.3 | 0.13 |
Turkmenistan | 10.3 | 4.2 | 6.1 | 0.69 |
Switzerland | 10.3 | 0.5 | 9.8 | 0.05 |
Czech Republic | 10.2 | 0.7 | 9.5 | 0.07 |
Barbados | 10.1 | 9.8 | 0.3 | 32.67 |
Poland | 10.0 | 0.7 | 9.3 | 0.08 |
Sudan | 9.9 | 5.1 | 4.8 | 1.06 |
Georgia | 9.9 | 2.2 | 7.7 | 0.29 |
Macedonia [30] | 9.9 | 1.9 | 8.0 | 0.24 |
Netherlands [30] | 9.9 | 0.6 | 9.3 | 0.06 |
Singapore | 9.9 | 0.2 | 9.7 | 0.02 |
Ireland | 9.6 | 0.7 | 8.9 | 0.08 |
Gambia | 9.6 | N/A | 9.6 | N/A |
Bosnia and Herzegovina [35] | 9.5 | 1.2 | 8.3 | 0.14 |
Fiji | 9.5 | N/A | 9.5 | N/A |
Uzbekistan | 9.4 | 1.1 | 8.3 | 0.13 |
Madagascar | 9.2 | N/A | 9.2 | N/A |
Germany [30] | 9.1 | 0.8 | 8.3 | 0.10 |
Serbia | 8.9 | 1.0 | 7.9 | 0.13 |
Romania | 8.8 | 1.5 | 7.3 | 0.21 |
Luxembourg [30] | 8.8 | 0.2 | 8.6 | 0.02 |
Vietnam | 8.7 | 1.5 | 7.2 | 0.21 |
East Timor | 8.6 | 4.1 | 4.5 | 0.91 |
Morocco | 8.6 | 1.3 | 7.3 | 0.18 |
Denmark [36] | 8.6 | 1.0 | 7.6 | 0.13 |
Comoros | 8.5 | N/A | 8.5 | N/A |
North Macedonia | 8.4 | 1.2 | 7.2 | 0.17 |
British Virgin Islands | 8.3 | 8.3 | N/A | N/A |
Cayman Islands | 8.2 | 8.2 | N/A | N/A |
North Korea | 8.2 | N/A | 8.2 | N/A |
Bermuda | 8.1 | 8.1 | N/A | N/A |
United Kingdom [37] (more info) | 8.1 | 1.2 | 6.9 | 0.17 |
Portugal [30] [38] | 8.1 | 0.9 | 7.2 | 0.13 |
Tunisia | 8.0 | 4.8 | 3.2 | 1.50 |
Mali | 8.0 | N/A | 8.0 | N/A |
Malaysia | 7.9 | 2.1 | 5.8 | 0.36 |
Bahrain | 7.7 | 0.5 | 7.2 | 0.07 |
Iran [39] | 7.6 | 2.5 | 5.1 | 0.49 |
Bhutan | 7.6 | 2.5 | 5.1 | 0.49 |
Bulgaria | 7.5 | 1.0 | 6.5 | 0.15 |
Cambodia | 7.3 | 1.8 | 5.5 | 0.33 |
China [40] (more info) | 7.2 | 0.5 | 6.7 | 0.07 |
Philippines | 6.9 | 4.4 | 2.5 | 1.76 |
Malta | 6.9 | 1.6 | 5.3 | 0.30 |
Israel [41] | 6.7 | 1.5 | 5.2 | 0.29 |
Saudi Arabia | 6.7 | 1.3 | 5.4 | 0.24 |
Bangladesh | 6.3 | 2.4 | 3.9 | 0.62 |
Azerbaijan | 6.3 | 2.3 | 4.0 | 0.58 |
Tajikistan | 6.2 | 0.9 | 5.3 | 0.17 |
Egypt | 6.0 | 2.6 | 3.4 | 0.76 |
Laos | 6.0 | N/A | 6.0 | N/A |
Mayotte | 5.9 | 5.9 | N/A | N/A |
Spain | 5.9 | 0.6 | 5.3 | 0.11 |
Guadeloupe | 5.8 | 5.8 | N/A | N/A |
Albania [42] | 5.8 | 2.1 | 3.7 | 0.57 |
Turks and Caicos Islands | 5.7 | 5.7 | N/A | N/A |
United Arab Emirates | 5.7 | 0.5 | 5.2 | 0.10 |
São Tomé and Príncipe | 5.5 | 3.3 | 2.2 | 1.5 |
Mauritania | 5.5 | N/A | 5.5 | N/A |
Myanmar | 5.3 | 2.3 | 3.0 | 0.77 |
Qatar | 5.1 | 0.4 | 4.7 | 0.09 |
Turkey [43] | 4.9 | 2.6 | 2.3 | 1.13 |
Italy | 4.8 | 0.5 | 4.3 | 0.12 |
Oman | 4.8 | 0.3 | 4.5 | 0.07 |
Lebanon | 4.7 | 1.9 | 2.8 | 0.68 |
Kuwait | 4.5 | 1.8 | 2.7 | 0.67 |
Armenia | 4.5 | 1.8 | 2.7 | 0.67 |
Libya | 4.5 | N/A | 4.5 | N/A |
Cyprus [30] | 4.4 | 1.2 | 3.2 | 0.38 |
Greece | 4.4 | 0.8 | 3.6 | 0.22 |
Tonga | 4.4 | N/A | 4.4 | N/A |
Algeria | 3.9 | 1.3 | 2.6 | 0.50 |
Papua New Guinea | 3.6 | N/A | 3.6 | N/A |
Maldives | 3.5 | 0.7 | 2.8 | 0.25 |
Gibraltar | 3.0 | 3.0 | N/A | N/A |
Jordan | 3.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 0.50 |
Syria | 3.0 | 0.9 | 2.1 | 0.43 |
Brunei | 3.0 | 0.5 | 2.5 | 0.20 |
Indonesia | 3.0 | 0.4 | 2.6 | 0.15 |
Martinique | 2.8 | 2.8 | N/A | N/A |
Andorra | 2.6 | 2.6 | N/A | N/A |
Liechtenstein | 2.6 | 2.6 | N/A | N/A |
Kosovo | 2.4 | 2.4 | N/A | N/A |
Kurdistan | 2.2 | 2.2 | N/A | N/A |
Aruba | 1.9 | 1.9 | N/A | N/A |
Réunion | 1.8 | 1.8 | N/A | N/A |
Palestine | 1.0 | 1.0 | N/A | N/A |
Taiwan | 0.8 | 0.8 | N/A | N/A |
Macau | 0.3 | 0.3 | N/A | N/A |
Channel Islands | 0.0 | 0.0 | N/A | N/A |
Holy See | 0.0 | 0.0 | N/A | N/A |
Isle of Man | 0.0 | 0.0 | N/A | N/A |
Monaco | 0.0 | 0.0 | N/A | N/A |
Saint Helena | 0.0 | 0.0 | N/A | N/A |
San Marino | 0.0 | 0.0 | N/A | N/A |
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. This state of mind may, depending upon the jurisdiction, distinguish murder from other forms of unlawful homicide, such as manslaughter. Manslaughter is killing committed in the absence of malice, such as in the case of voluntary manslaughter brought about by reasonable provocation, or diminished capacity. Involuntary manslaughter, where it is recognized, is a killing that lacks all but the most attenuated guilty intent, recklessness.
Homicide is an act in which a person causes the death of another person.
A violent crime, violent felony, crime of violence or crime of a violent nature is a crime in which an offender or perpetrator uses or threatens to use harmful force upon a victim. This entails both crimes in which the violent act is the objective, such as murder, assault, rape and assassination, as well as crimes in which violence is used as a method of coercion or show of force, such as robbery, extortion and terrorism. Violent crimes may, or may not, be committed with weapons. Depending on the jurisdiction, violent crimes may be regarded with varying severities from homicide to harassment. There have been many theories regarding heat being the cause of an increase in violent crime. Theorists claim that violent crime is persistent during the summer due to the heat, further causing people to become aggressive and commit more violent crime.
Crime in Japan has been recorded since at least the 1800s, and has varied over time.
Law enforcement in Japan is provided mainly by prefectural police under the oversight of the National Police Agency. The National Police Agency is administered by the National Public Safety Commission, ensuring that Japan's police are an apolitical body and free of direct central government executive control. They are checked by an independent judiciary and monitored by a free and active press.
Dowry deaths are deaths of married women who are murdered or driven to suicide over disputes about dowry. Dowry deaths are found predominantly in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Iran.
Crime has been recorded in the United States since its founding and has fluctuated significantly over time, with a sharp rise after 1900 and reaching a broad bulging peak between the 1970s and early 1990s. After 1992, crime rates have generally trended downwards each year, with the exceptions of a slight increase in property crimes in 2001 and increases in violent crimes in 2005-2006, 2014-2016 and 2020-2021. While official federal crime data beginning in 2021 has a wide margin of error due to the incomplete adoption of the National Incident-Based Reporting System by government agencies, federal data for 2020-2021 and limited data from select U.S. cities collected by the nonpartisan Council on Criminal Justice showed significantly elevated rates of homicide and motor vehicle theft in 2020-2022. Although overall crime rates have fallen far below the peak of crime seen in the United States during the late 1980s and early 1990s, the homicide rate in the U.S. has remained high, relative to other "high income"/developed nations, with eight major U.S. cities ranked among the 50 cities with the highest homicide rate in the world in 2022. The aggregate cost of crime in the United States is significant, with an estimated value of $4.9 trillion reported in 2021. Data from the first half of 2023, from government and private sector sources show that the murder rate has dropped, as much as 12% in as many as 90 cities across the United States. The drop in homicide rates is not uniform across the country however, with some cities such as Memphis, TN, showing an uptick in murder rates.
Gun-related violence is violence committed with the use of a firearm. Gun-related violence may or may not be considered criminal. Criminal violence includes homicide, assault with a deadly weapon, and suicide, or attempted suicide, depending on jurisdiction. Non-criminal violence includes accidental or unintentional injury and death. Also generally included in gun violence statistics are military or para-military activities.
Crime and violence affect the lives of millions of people in Latin America. Some consider social inequality to be a major contributing factor to levels of violence in Latin America, where the state fails to prevent crime and organized crime takes over State control in areas where the State is unable to assist the society such as in impoverished communities. In the years following the transitions from authoritarianism to democracy, crime and violence have become major problems in Latin America. The region experienced more than 2.5 million murders between 2000 and 2017. Several studies indicated the existence of an epidemic in the region; the Pan American Health Organization called violence in Latin America "the social pandemic of the 20th century." Apart from the direct human cost, the rise in crime and violence has imposed significant social costs and has made much more difficult the processes of economic and social development, democratic consolidation and regional integration in the Americas.
Some areas of Jamaica, particularly population centers such as Kingston, Montego Bay and Spanish Town, experience high levels of crime and violence. Jamaica has had one of the highest intentional homicide rates in the world for many years, according to United Nations estimates. Former Prime Minister P. J. Patterson described the situation as "a national challenge of unprecedented proportions".
Slovakia is a Central European country with a history of relatively low crime. While crime became more widespread after the Revolutions of 1989, it remains low when compared to many other post-communist countries.
Crime in Hungary is combated by the Hungarian police and other agencies.
Colombia has a high crime rate due to being a center for the cultivation and trafficking of cocaine. The Colombian conflict began in the mid-1960s and is a low-intensity conflict between Colombian governments, paramilitary groups, crime syndicates, and left-wing guerrillas such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), and the National Liberation Army (ELN), fighting each other to increase their influence in Colombian territory. Two of the most important international actors that have contributed to the Colombian conflict are multinational companies and the United States.
Crime in Peru has steadily decreased since the 2010s and into the 2020s. Peru's main indicators of crime are the homicide rate and the victimization rate; the victimization rate dropped from forty percent in 2011 to under twenty five percent in 2020.
Crime in Bolivia is investigated by the Bolivian police.
According to the data given by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, worldwide, 79% of homicide victims are men, and in 193 of the 202 listed countries or regions, men were more likely to be killed than women. In two, the ratio was 50:50, and in the remaining seven – Tonga, Iceland, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Latvia, and Hong Kong – women were slightly more likely to be victims of homicides compared to males. A 2000 global study on homicide by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime found that men accounted for about 98 percent of all homicide perpetrators worldwide and 79% of the victims. The highest female homicide rate per 100,000 inhabitants was in Honduras and highest male homicide rate per 100,000 inhabitants was in Lesotho.
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