Mexico vs United States: Homicides

Mexico
32,252 homicides
in 2023
United States
19,796 homicides
in 2023
Mexico rank
3rd
United States rank
5th

Homicides over time

  • Mexico
  • United States
10.0k20.0k30.0k40.0k199020062023

How they compare

Mexico currently reports 32,252 homicides against 19,796 homicides in United States, a difference of 12,456 homicides.

That makes Mexico's figure about 1.6 times United States's.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 31 shared years of data; in 1990 it was United States ahead.

Mexico ranks 3rd and United States ranks 5th of 179 countries.

Across the 4 decades both report, Mexico averaged higher in 2 and United States in 2.

Head to head by decade

Decade Mexico United States Difference Ahead
1990s 14,767 homicides 21,171 homicides 6,404 homicides United States
2000s 12,034 homicides 16,736 homicides 4,702 homicides United States
2010s 27,276 homicides 15,636 homicides 11,640 homicides Mexico
2020s 34,503 homicides 21,668 homicides 12,835 homicides Mexico

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher homicides, Mexico or United States?
Mexico, at 32,252 homicides against 19,796 homicides in United States as of 2023.
What is the difference in homicides between Mexico and United States?
12,456 homicides, with Mexico ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Mexico and United States?
31 years are reported by both, from 1990 to 2023.
How do Mexico and United States rank globally for homicides?
Mexico ranks 3rd and United States ranks 5th of 179 countries.
Where does this data come from?
UN, World Population Prospects (2024); United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Homicides. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator
Homicides
Unit
homicides
Source
UN, World Population Prospects (2024); United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
179 places, 4,154 data points, 1990–2024
Last refreshed

Number of intentional homicides.