The most violent country has 100x the homicide rate of the safest. Geography of crime is one of the widest gaps in modern statistics.
How to Play: Guess if the country on the right has a HIGHER or LOWER homicide rate than the one on the left.
Name A
Name B
Top 10 Highest Homicide Rate Countries
Homicide rate is one of the most reliable cross-country crime statistics — most countries report it consistently. UNODC harmonizes the data globally.
| # | Name | Homicides per 100,000 | Unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jamaica | 53 | per 100,000 |
| 2 | Honduras | 48 | per 100,000 |
| 3 | Venezuela | 45 | per 100,000 |
| 4 | Trinidad and Tobago | 37 | per 100,000 |
| 5 | South Africa | 33 | per 100,000 |
| 6 | Mexico | 28 | per 100,000 |
| 7 | Colombia | 26 | per 100,000 |
| 8 | Brazil | 21 | per 100,000 |
| 9 | Guatemala | 16 | per 100,000 |
| 10 | Russia | 7.50 | per 100,000 |
How Homicide Rates Are Compared
UNODC (UN Office on Drugs and Crime) standardizes definitions: intentional killings per 100,000 population per year. Suicide and most accidental deaths are excluded.
Latin America and the Caribbean have eight of the world’s ten highest rates. Drivers include drug-trafficking corridors, weak judicial systems, and post-conflict legacies. The US, despite high rates compared to peers, is far below Latin American levels.
East Asia and Western Europe sit at the low end. Japan’s 0.3/100k means under 400 homicides per year for 125 million people. Singapore at 0.16 is the lowest of any country reporting reliably.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which country has the highest murder rate?
Jamaica at 53/100k as of recent reporting. Honduras and Venezuela are similar.
How does the US compare?
The US at 6.4/100k is several times Western Europe (1-2) and Japan (0.3), but well below Latin America (15-50).
Are these figures reliable?
Mostly yes for homicides — bodies tend to get reported. Other crime statistics are less comparable across countries due to reporting variance.
Is the trend rising or falling?
Falling globally. Most countries have lower rates today than 2000. Mexico is a notable exception, where rates rose during cartel conflicts.
Note: Intentional homicide rate per 100,000 population per UNODC 2024 data.
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