Costa Rica vs South Africa: Child homicide rate
Costa Rica
3.14 deaths per 100,000 people
in 2022
South Africa
2.09 deaths per 100,000 people
in 2020
Costa Rica rank
17th
South Africa rank
20th
Child homicide rate over time
- Costa Rica
- South Africa
How they compare
Costa Rica currently reports 3.14 deaths per 100,000 people against 2.09 deaths per 100,000 people in South Africa, a difference of 1.05 deaths per 100,000 people.
That makes Costa Rica's figure about 1.5 times South Africa's.
The two have swapped places 12 times across 25 shared years of data; in 1996 it was Costa Rica ahead.
Costa Rica ranks 17th and South Africa ranks 20th of 113 countries.
Across the 4 decades both report, Costa Rica averaged higher in 3 and South Africa in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Costa Rica | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.56 deaths per 100,000 people | 0.8394 deaths per 100,000 people | 0.7225 deaths per 100,000 people | Costa Rica |
| 2000s | 2.23 deaths per 100,000 people | 2.61 deaths per 100,000 people | 0.3893 deaths per 100,000 people | South Africa |
| 2010s | 3.47 deaths per 100,000 people | 3.13 deaths per 100,000 people | 0.3405 deaths per 100,000 people | Costa Rica |
| 2020s | 3.46 deaths per 100,000 people | 2.09 deaths per 100,000 people | 1.37 deaths per 100,000 people | Costa Rica |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher child homicide rate, Costa Rica or South Africa?
- Costa Rica, at 3.14 deaths per 100,000 people against 2.09 deaths per 100,000 people in South Africa as of 2022.
- What is the difference in child homicide rate between Costa Rica and South Africa?
- 1.05 deaths per 100,000 people, with Costa Rica ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and South Africa?
- 25 years are reported by both, from 1996 to 2020.
- How do Costa Rica and South Africa rank globally for child homicide rate?
- Costa Rica ranks 17th and South Africa ranks 20th of 113 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- WHO Mortality Database (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Child homicide rate. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Annual number of homicides where the victim is under 20 years old, per 100,000 people in the same age-group.