The most common type of violent crime is murder. Whether murder is self-inflicted, homicidal, or accidental, murder rates around the world vary greatly by country.
Several factors contribute to lower murder rates and overall crime rates. These include the wealth of a nation, effective law enforcement, strict weapons regulations, severity of punishments for committing murder and more.
According to the Global Study on Homicide 2019 published by the United Nations, 464,000 people died from violent crimes in 2017, more than armed combat and terrorism combined. The report states that countries with high firearm rates tend to have higher intentional homicide rates. Additionally, organized crime accounts for a
The murder rate is the number of murders per 100,000 people. According to the UN, the ten countries with the highest homicide rates are:
- El Salvador (61.80)
- Jamaica (57)
- Honduras (41.7)
- Belize (37.9)
- South Africa (35.9)
- Lesotho (Bahamas)
- Brazil (30.5)
- Saint Lucia (29.6)
- Guatemala (26.1)
- Dominica (25.7)
El Salvador has the highest homicide rate of 61.80 per 100,000 people. Luckily, homicides in El Salvador have fallen for the past three years.
According to the UN’s Global Study on Homicide, some drivers of homicide are organized crime, gender stereotypes, inequality, unemployment, political instability, firearms, and drugs. By identifying these, countries will be able to adopt policies that will indirectly help reduce their homicide rates.
There are several countries, however, that have exceptionally low homicide rates. The ten countries with the lowest murder rates are:
- Japan (0.2)
- Singapore (0.2)
- China, Hong Kong (0.3)
- Luxembourg (0.3)
- Indonesia (0.4)
- Norway (0.5)
- Oman (0.5)
- Switzerland (0.5)
- United Arab Emirates (0.5)
- China (0.6)
A majority of the countries with the lowest homicide rates are located in Asia. Japan, which has the lowest murder rate in the world of 0.2 per 100,000, has very strict weapons regulations. Obtaining a firearm involves a very lengthy application process, and murder is punishable by hanging.
Below is a list of each country’s homicide rate (number of murders per 100,000 people).