Homicide rate by sex of the victim in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Homicide rate by sex of the victim was 33.09 homicides per 100,000 population in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
33.09 homicides per 100,000 population
Change on year
up 36.5%
World rank
19th
of 138 countries
All-time high
33.09 homicides per 100,000 population
in 2023
All-time low
6.68 homicides per 100,000 population
in 1991
Years of data
34
1990–2023
Homicide rate by sex of the victim in Costa Rica, 1990–2023
Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024); United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in homicides per 100,000 population.
Analysis
Costa Rica recorded 33.09 homicides per 100,000 population for homicide rate by sex of the victim in 2023. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.
That represents a change of up 36.5% on the previous year and up 106.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicide rate by sex of the victim in Costa Rica peaked at 33.09 homicides per 100,000 population in 2023 and was at its lowest, 6.68 homicides per 100,000 population, in 1991.
Costa Rica ranks 19th of 138 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Homicide rate by sex of the victim in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | homicides per 100,000 population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 7.1 homicides per 100,000 population | — |
| 1991 | 6.68 homicides per 100,000 population | -5.9% |
| 1992 | 8.22 homicides per 100,000 population | +23.1% |
| 1993 | 8.35 homicides per 100,000 population | +1.5% |
| 1994 | 9.12 homicides per 100,000 population | +9.2% |
| 1995 | 8.91 homicides per 100,000 population | -2.3% |
| 1996 | 9.45 homicides per 100,000 population | +6.1% |
| 1997 | 10.34 homicides per 100,000 population | +9.3% |
| 1998 | 10.46 homicides per 100,000 population | +1.2% |
| 1999 | 11.09 homicides per 100,000 population | +6.0% |
| 2000 | 10.67 homicides per 100,000 population | -3.8% |
| 2001 | 11.48 homicides per 100,000 population | +7.6% |
| 2002 | 11.08 homicides per 100,000 population | -3.5% |
| 2003 | 12.77 homicides per 100,000 population | +15.3% |
| 2004 | 11.58 homicides per 100,000 population | -9.3% |
| 2005 | 12.96 homicides per 100,000 population | +11.9% |
| 2006 | 14.28 homicides per 100,000 population | +10.2% |
| 2007 | 15.29 homicides per 100,000 population | +7.1% |
| 2008 | 20.54 homicides per 100,000 population | +34.3% |
| 2009 | 20.9 homicides per 100,000 population | +1.8% |
| 2010 | 20.65 homicides per 100,000 population | -1.2% |
| 2011 | 17.96 homicides per 100,000 population | -13.0% |
| 2012 | 15.46 homicides per 100,000 population | -13.9% |
| 2013 | 16.06 homicides per 100,000 population | +3.9% |
| 2014 | 18.05 homicides per 100,000 population | +12.4% |
| 2015 | 21.59 homicides per 100,000 population | +19.6% |
| 2016 | 21.25 homicides per 100,000 population | -1.6% |
| 2017 | 22.41 homicides per 100,000 population | +5.5% |
| 2018 | 21.15 homicides per 100,000 population | -5.6% |
| 2019 | 20.81 homicides per 100,000 population | -1.6% |
| 2020 | 20.39 homicides per 100,000 population | -2.0% |
| 2021 | 21.26 homicides per 100,000 population | +4.2% |
| 2022 | 24.24 homicides per 100,000 population | +14.0% |
| 2023 | 33.09 homicides per 100,000 population | +36.5% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 33.09 homicides per 100,000 population is above the median for high income countries, which is 1.45 homicides per 100,000 population, 22.9× the median. (70 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 33.09 homicides per 100,000 population is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 27.39 homicides per 100,000 population, 1.2× the median. (40 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 8.97 homicides per 100,000 population | 6.68 homicides per 100,000 population | 11.09 homicides per 100,000 population | 10 |
| 2000s | 14.16 homicides per 100,000 population | 10.67 homicides per 100,000 population | 20.9 homicides per 100,000 population | 10 |
| 2010s | 19.54 homicides per 100,000 population | 15.46 homicides per 100,000 population | 22.41 homicides per 100,000 population | 10 |
| 2020s | 24.75 homicides per 100,000 population | 20.39 homicides per 100,000 population | 33.09 homicides per 100,000 population | 4 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
- 16 Mexico 44.88 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 17 Guatemala 40.24 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 18 Brazil 34.66 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 20 Curacao 32.62 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 21 Puerto Rico 27.69 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 22 Guyana 27.08 homicides per 100,000 population compare
More social development data for Costa Rica
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 36,395 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 367 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 1 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0001 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 367 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0071 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 homicide rate by sex of the victim in Costa Rica?
- Homicide rate by sex of the victim in Costa Rica was 33.09 homicides per 100,000 population in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024); United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest homicide rate by sex of the victim recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 33.09 homicides per 100,000 population in 2023.
- What is the lowest homicide rate by sex of the victim recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.68 homicides per 100,000 population in 1991.
- How does Costa Rica rank for homicide rate by sex of the victim?
- Costa Rica ranks 19th out of 138 countries with data for 2023.
- Is homicide rate by sex of the victim rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 106.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures 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 part of Homicide rate by sex of the victim. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Intentional homicide rate per 100,000 populationof male victims.