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Homicide rate in Australia

Australia: Homicide rate was 0.91 deaths per 100,000 people in 2021. ▼ Falling

Latest (2021)
0.91 deaths per 100,000 people
Change on year
down 2.2%
World rank
168th
of 194 countries
All-time high
1.65 deaths per 100,000 people
in 2000
All-time low
0.91 deaths per 100,000 people
in 2021
Years of data
22
2000–2021

Homicide rate in Australia, 2000–2021

00.511.52000201020212000: 1.6 deaths per 100,000 people2001: 1.6 deaths per 100,000 people2002: 1.5 deaths per 100,000 people2003: 1.3 deaths per 100,000 people2004: 1.3 deaths per 100,000 people2005: 1.3 deaths per 100,000 people2006: 1.3 deaths per 100,000 people2007: 1.1 deaths per 100,000 people2008: 1.3 deaths per 100,000 people2009: 1.3 deaths per 100,000 people2010: 1.2 deaths per 100,000 people2011: 1.2 deaths per 100,000 people2012: 1.3 deaths per 100,000 people2013: 1.1 deaths per 100,000 people2014: 1.1 deaths per 100,000 people2015: 1.1 deaths per 100,000 people2016: 0.99 deaths per 100,000 people2017: 0.98 deaths per 100,000 people2018: 0.99 deaths per 100,000 people2019: 0.96 deaths per 100,000 people2020: 0.93 deaths per 100,000 people2021: 0.91 deaths per 100,000 people

Source: World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths per 100,000 people.

Analysis

The most recent figure for homicide rate in Australia is 0.91 deaths per 100,000 people, measured in 2021. That is the lowest value across all 22 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.2% on the previous year and down 22.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, homicide rate in Australia peaked at 1.65 deaths per 100,000 people in 2000 and was at its lowest, 0.91 deaths per 100,000 people, in 2021.

Australia ranks 168th of 194 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 22 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 1.36 deaths per 100,000 people 1.13 deaths per 100,000 people 1.65 deaths per 100,000 people 10
2010s 1.09 deaths per 100,000 people 0.96 deaths per 100,000 people 1.3 deaths per 100,000 people 10
2020s 0.92 deaths per 100,000 people 0.91 deaths per 100,000 people 0.93 deaths per 100,000 people 2

Countries ranked near Australia

  1. 167 Germany 0.94 deaths per 100,000 people compare
  2. 169 Malta 0.86 deaths per 100,000 people compare
  3. 170 Slovenia 0.84 deaths per 100,000 people compare
  4. 171 Portugal 0.83 deaths per 100,000 people compare

See the full ranking of 194 places →

More social development data for Australia

All data for Australia →

Frequently asked questions

What is homicide rate in Australia?
Homicide rate in Australia was 0.91 deaths per 100,000 people in 2021, according to World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest homicide rate recorded in Australia?
The highest recorded value was 1.65 deaths per 100,000 people in 2000.
What is the lowest homicide rate recorded in Australia?
The lowest recorded value was 0.91 deaths per 100,000 people in 2021.
How does Australia rank for homicide rate?
Australia ranks 168th out of 194 countries with data for 2021.
Is homicide rate rising or falling in Australia?
Over the last ten years it is down 22.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Australia data come from?
The figures come from World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Homicide rate. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 22 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Homicide rate
Unit
deaths per 100,000 people
Source
World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
194 places, 4,268 data points, 2000–2021
Last refreshed

Estimated number of deaths from interpersonal violence in both sexes, per 100,000 people.