Country rankings

Murder Rate by Country

Brazil has the highest Total Murders in 2023 (40,698), followed by Nigeria (35,884) and Mexico (32,252). Malta has the lowest (3).

Crime & Safety184 countries · 6 metricsUpdated Jan 8, 2025Original page
5 sources
82 of 235 countries
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Total Murders, 2023

Green is better, red is worse (lower is better). Click a place to highlight it.

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Ranking

Best first: the first 15 and last 5 of 82 countries.

Distribution Median and middle halfThe median is the middle value: half of places are above it, half below. The middle half is the range holding the central 50% of places.More in the glossary →

Each dot is one country; the lines mark the median and the middle half.

Median
123
Middle half 39 – 776
Average
2,489
82 countries
Lowest (best)
3
Malta
Highest (worst)
40,698
Brazil

Over time · 1990–2024

The top 5 in 2023, against the median.

  • Median of all countries
  • Malta
  • Singapore
  • Macau
  • Bermuda
  • Montenegro

Data

Click a column to sort, a row to highlight that place on the charts.

84 countries · # = rank by Total Murders
#
1Malta30.563 per 100k
2Singapore40.069 per 100k
2Macau40.56 per 100k
2Bermuda46.183 per 100k
5Montenegro5—
5Iceland51.29 per 100k
7Oman70.139 per 100k
8Antigua and Barbuda1010.716 per 100k
9Cyprus110.818 per 100k
10Slovenia120.566 per 100k
11Grenada1613.666 per 100k
12Dominica1827.063 per 100k
13Fiji192.056 per 100k
14Estonia211.536 per 100k
14Barbados217.438 per 100k
16Croatia260.667 per 100k
17Hong Kong280.376 per 100k
17North Macedonia281.529 per 100k
19Saint Kitts and Nevis3064.16 per 100k
20Ireland340.654 per 100k
21Bosnia and Herzegovina391.224 per 100k
21Albania391.387 per 100k
23Norway400.725 per 100k
24Latvia472.497 per 100k
25Denmark500.841 per 100k
26Saint Vincent and the Grenadines5251.321 per 100k
27Switzerland530.597 per 100k
28Finland550.982 per 100k
29Slovakia621.124 per 100k
30Armenia652.208 per 100k
31Hungary700.723 per 100k
31Saint Lucia7039.044 per 100k
33Bulgaria741.089 per 100k
34Lithuania752.628 per 100k
35Moldova782.543 per 100k
36Austria800.876 per 100k
37Czechia830.768 per 100k
38Greece860.84 per 100k
39Serbia891.314 per 100k
40Jordan1130.988 per 100k
41Sweden1211.147 per 100k
42Netherlands1250.691 per 100k
43Guyana15819.12 per 100k
44Mongolia2030.789 per 100k
45Romania2121.109 per 100k
46Azerbaijan2232.161 per 100k
47Australia2260.854 per 100k
48South Korea2470.477 per 100k
49Malaysia2580.734 per 100k
50Japan2850.229 per 100k
51Poland3110.802 per 100k
52Spain3310.691 per 100k
53Italy3380.568 per 100k
54Uruguay38111.245 per 100k
55Paraguay4646.78 per 100k
56Puerto Rico47314.59 per 100k
57Panama52211.707 per 100k
58Algeria5361.161 per 100k
59Bolivia5414.418 per 100k
60Morocco6431.705 per 100k
61Germany7700.911 per 100k
62Canada7781.98 per 100k
63France8871.335 per 100k
64Costa Rica90617.745 per 100k
65Dominican Republic1,23710.917 per 100k
66Chile1,2486.348 per 100k
67Myanmar1,3942.575 per 100k
68Jamaica1,40449.44 per 100k
69Argentina2,0464.493 per 100k
70Turkey2,8173.228 per 100k
71Honduras3,34731.442 per 100k
72Guatemala4,23523.366 per 100k
73Uganda4,3668.973 per 100k
74Haiti4,78941.152 per 100k
75Philippines4,9954.348 per 100k
76Ecuador8,22145.723 per 100k
77Pakistan10,7294.335 per 100k
78Colombia13,03524.913 per 100k
79United States19,7965.763 per 100k
80Mexico32,25224.859 per 100k
81Nigeria35,88415.747 per 100k
82Brazil40,69819.275 per 100k
—United Kingdom—0.779 per 100k
—Suriname—6.519 per 100k

What correlates with Total Murders (2023)?

Pearson r against 1,626 other country metrics sharing at least 50 countries, 1 near-identical series hidden. Ranks are read by standing: a better rank counts as higher, whether rank 1 is the best place on a list or the worst. Correlation is not causation.

Higher together

Places that have a higher Total Murders tend to score higher on these (or rank better)

  1. # of RobberiesViolent Crime Rates by Country
    r = +0.97 · very strong · n = 57
    Plot
  2. Victims of Gun Homicide UNGun Deaths by Country
    r = +0.91 · very strong · n = 51
    Plot
  3. Stabbing DeathsStabbing Deaths by Country
    r = +0.88 · very strong · n = 80
    Plot
  4. Violent Gun Deaths IHMEGun Deaths by Country
    r = +0.87 · very strong · n = 80
    Plot
  5. HomicidesGun Violence by Country
    r = +0.87 · very strong · n = 80
    Plot
  6. DeathsCervical Cancer Rates by Country
    r = +0.86 · very strong · n = 76
    Plot

Opposite directions

Places that have a higher Total Murders tend to score lower on these (or rank worse)

  1. WJP RoLI Order and Security ScoreWorld Justice Project (WJP) Rule of Law Index
    r = −0.53 · strong · n = 73
    Plot
  2. LP Safety & SecurityLegatum Prosperity IndexA rank: rank 1 is the best
    r = +0.53 · strong · n = 71
    Plot
  3. Safest Country Rank (US News)Safest Countries in the WorldA rank: rank 1 is the best
    r = +0.53 · strong · n = 54
    Plot
  4. Political Stability ScorePolitical Stability by Country
    r = −0.48 · moderate · n = 82
    Plot
  5. Average Age Upon Birth of First Child (CIA)Average Age of Having First Child by Country
    r = −0.47 · moderate · n = 51
    Plot
  6. Women, Peace and Security Index (WPSI)Most Dangerous Countries for Women
    r = −0.46 · moderate · n = 75
    Plot

Quick answers

Which country has the highest Total Murders?
Brazil has the highest Total Murders in 2023, at 40,698, followed by Nigeria (35,884) and Mexico (32,252).
Which country has the lowest Total Murders?
Malta has the lowest Total Murders in 2023, at 3.
What is the median Total Murders across countries?
The median is 123 across the 82 countries with data in 2023.
Where does this murder rate by country data come from?
Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: Intentional homicide - UNODC; Intentional homicides (per 100,000 people) - World Bank; Victims of Intentional Homicide: 1990-2018 - United Nations; Global Study on Homicide - 2019 Edition - United Nations.