What is Murder?
Murder can be described as the unlawful killing of one human by another that is conducted with malice aforethought.
Global Statistics for Murder
According to the World Health Organization, approximately 650,000 people were murdered worldwide in 2017. Roughly speaking, this figure translates to an average of 1.2 murders per 100,000 head of population across the entire world for that year. However, it almost goes without saying that murder rates vary significantly from country to country. Countries with the highest murder rates typically experience killings hundreds of times higher than those with the lowest rates.
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Here’s a brief synopsis of five countries with some of the highest global murder rates for 2022. Figures are expressed as the number of victims per 100,000 per head of population per year:
1. Jamaica – 52.9
Jamaica is one of the most violent countries in the Caribbean. In 2022, there were approximately 52.9 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in the island nation. In 2022, the country had the highest homicide rate in Latin America and the Caribbean.
2. South Africa – 43.7
In 2022, the country’s murder rate shot up to 43.7 murders per 100,000 people from the previous year’s figure of 39.5. The new figure means that in 2022 an average of 74 people were murdered in South Africa every day.
3. Saint Lucia – 42.3
In 2022, St Lucia reported a record-high number of 76 murders for a population of less than 180,000. In recent years, the island, best known to the world as a dream holiday destination, has become a transit hub for South American drug cartels.
4. Honduras – 35.8
In 2022, approximately 35.8 murders were committed per 100,000 per head of population in Honduras. On the plus side, murder rates have been on a downward trend for the last 8 years. In 2014, there were 66 murders per 100,000 residents.
5. Mexico – 25.2
According to data processed by the Ministry of Security, there was a total of 30,968 murders in Mexico in 2022. The figure is 7.1% lower than murders in 2021 and 10.8% lower than the record high of 2019. However, the count still equates to almost 85 killings per day.
Did you know?
In an average year, globally, men make up around 90% of the perpetrators of murder and approximately 80% of the victims.
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