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Homicide rate in South Korea

South Korea: Homicide rate was 0.74 deaths per 100,000 people in 2021. ▼ Falling

Latest (2021)
0.74 deaths per 100,000 people
Change on year
down 7.5%
World rank
176th
of 194 countries
All-time high
1.97 deaths per 100,000 people
in 2004
All-time low
0.74 deaths per 100,000 people
in 2021
Years of data
22
2000–2021

Homicide rate in South Korea, 2000–2021

00.511.522000201020212000: 1.9 deaths per 100,000 people2001: 1.8 deaths per 100,000 people2002: 1.8 deaths per 100,000 people2003: 1.9 deaths per 100,000 people2004: 2 deaths per 100,000 people2005: 2 deaths per 100,000 people2006: 1.8 deaths per 100,000 people2007: 1.6 deaths per 100,000 people2008: 1.5 deaths per 100,000 people2009: 1.5 deaths per 100,000 people2010: 1.4 deaths per 100,000 people2011: 1.2 deaths per 100,000 people2012: 1.1 deaths per 100,000 people2013: 1.2 deaths per 100,000 people2014: 1.1 deaths per 100,000 people2015: 1.1 deaths per 100,000 people2016: 0.89 deaths per 100,000 people2017: 0.84 deaths per 100,000 people2018: 0.81 deaths per 100,000 people2019: 0.84 deaths per 100,000 people2020: 0.8 deaths per 100,000 people2021: 0.74 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

South Korea recorded 0.74 deaths per 100,000 people for homicide rate in 2021. That is the lowest value across all 22 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 7.5% on the previous year and down 37.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, homicide rate in South Korea peaked at 1.97 deaths per 100,000 people in 2004 and was at its lowest, 0.74 deaths per 100,000 people, in 2021.

South Korea ranks 176th 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 1.76 deaths per 100,000 people 1.5 deaths per 100,000 people 1.97 deaths per 100,000 people 10
2010s 1.04 deaths per 100,000 people 0.81 deaths per 100,000 people 1.36 deaths per 100,000 people 10
2020s 0.77 deaths per 100,000 people 0.74 deaths per 100,000 people 0.8 deaths per 100,000 people 2

Countries ranked near South Korea

  1. 173 Croatia 0.78 deaths per 100,000 people compare
  2. 174 Oman 0.76 deaths per 100,000 people compare
  3. 177 Poland 0.68 deaths per 100,000 people compare
  4. 178 China 0.67 deaths per 100,000 people compare
  5. 178 United Arab Emirates 0.67 deaths per 100,000 people compare

See the full ranking of 194 places →

More social development data for South Korea

All data for South Korea →

Frequently asked questions

What is homicide rate in South Korea?
Homicide rate in South Korea was 0.74 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 South Korea?
The highest recorded value was 1.97 deaths per 100,000 people in 2004.
What is the lowest homicide rate recorded in South Korea?
The lowest recorded value was 0.74 deaths per 100,000 people in 2021.
How does South Korea rank for homicide rate?
South Korea ranks 176th out of 194 countries with data for 2021.
Is homicide rate rising or falling in South Korea?
Over the last ten years it is down 37.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this South Korea 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.