Homicide rate (World Health) in El Salvador
El Salvador: Homicide rate (World Health) was 94.3 deaths per 100,000 people in 2021. ▲ Rising
Homicide rate in El Salvador, 2000–2021
Source: World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths per 100,000 people.
Analysis
In 2021, homicide rate in El Salvador stood at 94.3 deaths per 100,000 people. That is the highest value across all 22 years on record.
That represents a change of up 3.6% on the previous year and up 32.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicide rate in El Salvador peaked at 94.3 deaths per 100,000 people in 2021 and was at its lowest, 61.71 deaths per 100,000 people, in 2002.
El Salvador ranks 1st of 194 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.
Homicide rate (World Health) in El Salvador, year by year
| Year | deaths per 100,000 people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 65.26 deaths per 100,000 people | — |
| 2001 | 64.3 deaths per 100,000 people | -1.5% |
| 2002 | 61.71 deaths per 100,000 people | -4.0% |
| 2003 | 64.41 deaths per 100,000 people | +4.4% |
| 2004 | 68.53 deaths per 100,000 people | +6.4% |
| 2005 | 70.78 deaths per 100,000 people | +3.3% |
| 2006 | 71.12 deaths per 100,000 people | +0.5% |
| 2007 | 68.98 deaths per 100,000 people | -3.0% |
| 2008 | 68.19 deaths per 100,000 people | -1.1% |
| 2009 | 73.46 deaths per 100,000 people | +7.7% |
| 2010 | 72.44 deaths per 100,000 people | -1.4% |
| 2011 | 71.3 deaths per 100,000 people | -1.6% |
| 2012 | 63.05 deaths per 100,000 people | -11.6% |
| 2013 | 64.35 deaths per 100,000 people | +2.1% |
| 2014 | 74.99 deaths per 100,000 people | +16.5% |
| 2015 | 88.86 deaths per 100,000 people | +18.5% |
| 2016 | 87.73 deaths per 100,000 people | -1.3% |
| 2017 | 81.53 deaths per 100,000 people | -7.1% |
| 2018 | 85.16 deaths per 100,000 people | +4.5% |
| 2019 | 87.34 deaths per 100,000 people | +2.6% |
| 2020 | 91 deaths per 100,000 people | +4.2% |
| 2021 | 94.3 deaths per 100,000 people | +3.6% |
El Salvador compared with similar countries
- El Salvador's 94.3 deaths per 100,000 people is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 4.79 deaths per 100,000 people, 19.7× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- El Salvador's 94.3 deaths per 100,000 people is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 14.24 deaths per 100,000 people, 6.6× the median. (33 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 67.67 deaths per 100,000 people | 61.71 deaths per 100,000 people | 73.46 deaths per 100,000 people | 10 |
| 2010s | 77.67 deaths per 100,000 people | 63.05 deaths per 100,000 people | 88.86 deaths per 100,000 people | 10 |
| 2020s | 92.65 deaths per 100,000 people | 91 deaths per 100,000 people | 94.3 deaths per 100,000 people | 2 |
Countries ranked near El Salvador
More social development data for El Salvador
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 182 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 68,182 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 5 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 5 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0107 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 68,182 (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 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is homicide rate in El Salvador?
- Homicide rate in El Salvador was 94.3 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 El Salvador?
- The highest recorded value was 94.3 deaths per 100,000 people in 2021.
- What is the lowest homicide rate recorded in El Salvador?
- The lowest recorded value was 61.71 deaths per 100,000 people in 2002.
- How does El Salvador rank for homicide rate?
- El Salvador ranks 1st out of 194 countries with data for 2021.
- Is homicide rate rising or falling in El Salvador?
- Over the last ten years it is up 32.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this El Salvador 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.
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About this data
Estimated number of deaths from interpersonal violence in both sexes, per 100,000 people.