Homicide Death Rate

The world's safest nations have homicide rates 500 times lower than the most dangerous.

World Health OrganizationUpdated Jan '24

Summary

Safest 5 Countries

1Singapore
0.181 /100k
2Japan
0.181 /100k
3Bahrain
0.272 /100k
4Switzerland
0.443 /100k
5Luxembourg
0.475 /100k
Dataset Median
4.5 /100k

Most Dangerous 5 Countries

179Bahamas
44.6 /100k
180Jamaica
51.9 /100k
181Venezuela
63.1 /100k
182Honduras
75.2 /100k
183El Salvador
93.8 /100k

Gap

518x

El Salvador vs Singapore: 518x deadlier

Leader

0.18

Singapore and Japan neck and neck

Trailing

#106

US trails Ukraine and Sudan

Data

183 results

1Singapore0.181 /100k
2Japan0.181 /100k
3Bahrain0.272 /100k
4Switzerland0.443 /100k
5Luxembourg0.475 /100k
6Qatar0.476 /100k
7Austria0.494 /100k
8Spain0.517 /100k
9Czechia0.562 /100k
10Norway0.564 /100k

Map

Homicide Death Rate

93.8 /100k
0.181 /100k

Insights

Generated automatically using AI

Gap

518x

El Salvador's murder rate is 518x higher than Singapore's pristine streets

Leader

0.18

Singapore and Japan are virtually tied as world's safest with identical rates

Trailing

#106

US ranks 106th with higher murder rates than war-torn Ukraine and Sudan

Comparison

32x

US has 32x more murders per capita than top European nations like Switzerland

Cluster

6 of 10

Europe claims 6 of world's 10 safest spots with rates all under 1.0

Methodology

What this measures: The homicide death rate per 100,000 population, indicating the frequency of intentional killing deaths in each country. Lower rates indicate fewer homicide deaths relative to population size.

How the data is collected: Data is compiled by the World Health Organization from national vital registration systems and other official sources that record causes of death.

How the ranking is computed: Countries are ranked from lowest to highest homicide death rate, with lower rates receiving better rankings since they indicate safer conditions.

Coverage: 183 countries with data spanning 2000 to 2021, though not all countries have data for every year.

Segments: Shows total population by default, with separate data available for males and females.

Limitations:

  • Data quality varies significantly between countries based on vital registration system completeness
  • Some countries may underreport homicides due to limited investigation capacity or definitional differences
  • Legal definitions of homicide can differ across jurisdictions
  • Recent years may have incomplete data due to reporting delays
  • High rates do not necessarily indicate systemic issues without considering socioeconomic context

Source

World Health Organization - Homicide Death Rate