Homicide rate by sex of the victim in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico: Homicide rate by sex of the victim was 27.69 homicides per 100,000 population in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
27.69 homicides per 100,000 population
Change on year
down 18.5%
World rank
21st
of 138 countries
All-time high
62.22 homicides per 100,000 population
in 2011
All-time low
27.69 homicides per 100,000 population
in 2023
Years of data
34
1990–2023
Homicide rate by sex of the victim in Puerto Rico, 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
In 2023, homicide rate by sex of the victim in Puerto Rico stood at 27.69 homicides per 100,000 population. That is the lowest value across all 34 years on record.
That represents a change of down 18.5% on the previous year and down 45.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicide rate by sex of the victim in Puerto Rico peaked at 62.22 homicides per 100,000 population in 2011 and was at its lowest, 27.69 homicides per 100,000 population, in 2023.
Puerto Rico ranks 21st of 138 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 34 years of available data.
Homicide rate by sex of the victim in Puerto Rico, year by year
| Year | homicides per 100,000 population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 30.6 homicides per 100,000 population | — |
| 1991 | 40.92 homicides per 100,000 population | +33.7% |
| 1992 | 45.14 homicides per 100,000 population | +10.3% |
| 1993 | 48.58 homicides per 100,000 population | +7.6% |
| 1994 | 51.42 homicides per 100,000 population | +5.8% |
| 1995 | 44.06 homicides per 100,000 population | -14.3% |
| 1996 | 44.08 homicides per 100,000 population | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 36.84 homicides per 100,000 population | -16.4% |
| 1998 | 32.62 homicides per 100,000 population | -11.5% |
| 1999 | 29.36 homicides per 100,000 population | -10.0% |
| 2000 | 35.97 homicides per 100,000 population | +22.5% |
| 2001 | 39.94 homicides per 100,000 population | +11.0% |
| 2002 | 41.29 homicides per 100,000 population | +3.4% |
| 2003 | 41.47 homicides per 100,000 population | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 42.44 homicides per 100,000 population | +2.3% |
| 2005 | 41.69 homicides per 100,000 population | -1.8% |
| 2006 | 40.69 homicides per 100,000 population | -2.4% |
| 2007 | 40.08 homicides per 100,000 population | -1.5% |
| 2008 | 45.04 homicides per 100,000 population | +12.4% |
| 2009 | 50.26 homicides per 100,000 population | +11.6% |
| 2010 | 54.28 homicides per 100,000 population | +8.0% |
| 2011 | 62.22 homicides per 100,000 population | +14.6% |
| 2012 | 53.46 homicides per 100,000 population | -14.1% |
| 2013 | 50.56 homicides per 100,000 population | -5.4% |
| 2014 | 38.33 homicides per 100,000 population | -24.2% |
| 2015 | 34.39 homicides per 100,000 population | -10.3% |
| 2016 | 39.18 homicides per 100,000 population | +13.9% |
| 2017 | 43.17 homicides per 100,000 population | +10.2% |
| 2018 | 39.39 homicides per 100,000 population | -8.7% |
| 2019 | 38.05 homicides per 100,000 population | -3.4% |
| 2020 | 32.68 homicides per 100,000 population | -14.1% |
| 2021 | 38.75 homicides per 100,000 population | +18.6% |
| 2022 | 33.96 homicides per 100,000 population | -12.4% |
| 2023 | 27.69 homicides per 100,000 population | -18.5% |
Puerto Rico compared with similar countries
- Puerto Rico's 27.69 homicides per 100,000 population is above the median for high income countries, which is 1.45 homicides per 100,000 population, 19.2× the median. (70 countries reporting)
- Puerto Rico's 27.69 homicides per 100,000 population is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 27.39 homicides per 100,000 population, 1.0× the median. (40 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 40.36 homicides per 100,000 population | 29.36 homicides per 100,000 population | 51.42 homicides per 100,000 population | 10 |
| 2000s | 41.89 homicides per 100,000 population | 35.97 homicides per 100,000 population | 50.26 homicides per 100,000 population | 10 |
| 2010s | 45.3 homicides per 100,000 population | 34.39 homicides per 100,000 population | 62.22 homicides per 100,000 population | 10 |
| 2020s | 33.27 homicides per 100,000 population | 27.69 homicides per 100,000 population | 38.75 homicides per 100,000 population | 4 |
Countries ranked near Puerto Rico
- 18 Brazil 34.66 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 19 Costa Rica 33.09 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 20 Curacao 32.62 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 22 Guyana 27.08 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 23 Grenada 25.53 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 24 Seychelles 24.17 homicides per 100,000 population compare
More social development data for Puerto Rico
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 (2024)
- Political Rights Rating 1 (2015)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2015)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 1 (2015)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per person (2024)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 (2024)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Political rights rating fh, per square kilometre 0.0001 units per square kilometre (2015)
- Political Rights Score 37 (2015)
- Freedom Score 90 (2015)
Frequently asked questions
- What is homicide rate by sex of the victim in Puerto Rico?
- Homicide rate by sex of the victim in Puerto Rico was 27.69 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 Puerto Rico?
- The highest recorded value was 62.22 homicides per 100,000 population in 2011.
- What is the lowest homicide rate by sex of the victim recorded in Puerto Rico?
- The lowest recorded value was 27.69 homicides per 100,000 population in 2023.
- How does Puerto Rico rank for homicide rate by sex of the victim?
- Puerto Rico ranks 21st out of 138 countries with data for 2023.
- Is homicide rate by sex of the victim rising or falling in Puerto Rico?
- Over the last ten years it is down 45.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Puerto Rico 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.
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About this data
Intentional homicide rate per 100,000 populationof male victims.