Child homicide rate in South Africa
South Africa: Child homicide rate was 2.09 in 2020. β² Rising
Latest (2020)
2.09
Change on year
down 30.5%
World rank
20th
of 112 countries
All-time high
3.72
in 2016
All-time low
0.1068
in 1996
Years of data
25
1996β2020
Child homicide rate in South Africa, 1996β2020
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for child homicide rate in South Africa is 2.09, measured in 2020.
The figure is down 30.5% on the previous year and down 28.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, child homicide rate in South Africa peaked at 3.72 in 2016 and was at its lowest, 0.1068, in 1996.
South Africa ranks 20th of 112 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.8394 | 0.1068 | 1.64 | 4 |
| 2000s | 2.61 | 1.24 | 3.7 | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.13 | 2.75 | 3.72 | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.09 | 2.09 | 2.09 | 1 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 17 Costa Rica 3.14 compare
- 18 Seychelles 3.07 compare
- 19 Saint Lucia 2.13 compare
- 21 Paraguay 1.71 compare
- 22 French Guiana 1.69 compare
- 23 Chile 1.67 compare
More social development data for South Africa
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 55,177 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 1,319 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh 2 (2025)
- Democracy lexical 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 2 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1,319 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0009 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is child homicide rate in South Africa?
- Child homicide rate in South Africa was 2.09 in 2020, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest child homicide rate recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 3.72 in 2016.
- What is the lowest child homicide rate recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1068 in 1996.
- How does South Africa rank for child homicide rate?
- South Africa ranks 20th out of 112 countries with data for 2020.
- Is child homicide rate rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 28.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Child homicide rate. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV Β· JSON β 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).