Countries by Homicide Rate

What Homicides Measures

Homicides is a comparative indicator tracked across countries by the OECD. It provides a quantitative basis for cross-national comparison, enabling researchers and policymakers to benchmark national performance on this dimension against global peers.

Why This Ranking Matters

Examining Homicides across all countries reveals patterns that might not be obvious at the national level. Regional clusters, outlier nations, and historical trajectories all become clearer when the full global picture is assembled in a single ranking.

Global Range

Values range from 0.10 (Ireland) to 27.4 (Mexico) — a 274-fold difference across 38 countries.

Regional Patterns

European countries dominate this ranking, holding 11 of the top 20 positions. This strong regional concentration suggests shared economic, geographic, or policy factors that drive higher values across the continent.

The distribution is highly right-skewed — a few countries have exceptionally high values that pull the average well above the median. The median (0.80) is far more representative than the mean (2.71).

Notable Outliers

The top of the ranking is competitive: Mexico and Colombia are separated by only 8%, indicating that the leading positions could shift with updated data.

Continental Leaders

North America

Mexico

27.4

South America

Chile

3.90

Europe

Latvia

2.40

Asia

Israel

1.60

Oceania

New Zealand

1.30