The list of countries by homicide rate is derived from United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) data, and is expressed in number of deaths per 100,000 population per year. For example, a homicide rate of 30 out of 100,000 is presented in the table as "30", and corresponds to 0.03% of the population dying by homicide. The reliability of underlying national murder rate data may vary. Only UNODC-vetted data is used in the main table to maintain consistency. In some cases, it may not be as up to date as other sources.
Homicide rates may be under-reported for political reasons.
A study undertaken by the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development estimated that there were approximately 490,000 intentional homicides globally in 2004, for a rate of 7.6 per 100,000. UNODC calculated a global estimated rate of 6.9 per 100,000 in 2010; 6.2 per 100,000 in 2012; 6.1 per 100,000 in 2017; and a rate of 5.61 per 100,000 for 2022.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which collects global data on intentional homicide, currently using the International Classification of Crime for Statistical Purposes, ICCS 2015, has offered details on the methodology and definitions used, and on the limitations which exist.
The UNODC in its 2013 Global Study on Homicide report stated that:
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. 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.
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. 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. The two sources usually match in the Americas, Europe and Oceania, but there are large discrepancies for the three African countries reporting both sources. For the 70 countries (as of 2013) in which neither source was made available, figures were derived from WHO statistical models.
Deaths resulting from an armed conflict between states are never included in the count. 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.
The World Bank Group stated with regard to statistics on intentional homicides per 100,000 people collected by UNODC that:
The regions and subregions in the table are based on the United Nations geoscheme since the table sources are United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reports. See List of countries and territories by the United Nations geoscheme.
The U.N. recognizes that variability in the quality and integrity of data provided by certain countries may minimize country murder rates.
The table below features a total yearly count of homicides for each country. Rates are calculated per 100,000 inhabitants. Rates are to the 3rd decimal place in order to separate countries with low homicide rates.
For some countries, the most recent homocide rate that UNODC publishes for a country is not from the same year as the most recent published total homocide count. Therefore, the 'rate' and 'count' columns below each have their own accompanying 'year' column.
A 2024 study by InSight Crime revealed that the Turks and Caicos Islands had the highest homicide rate in Latin America and the Caribbean. Haiti ranked second, followed by St. Kitts and Nevis in third place. In 2025, InSight Crime reported that the overall homicide rate across Latin America and the Caribbean declined. Haiti recorded the highest rate in the region, followed by the Turks and Caicos Islands, Ecuador, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Saint Lucia.