Homicide rate (World Health) in Nicaragua
Nicaragua: Homicide rate (World Health) was 9.23 deaths per 100,000 people in 2021. ▼ Falling
Homicide rate in Nicaragua, 2000–2021
Source: World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths per 100,000 people.
Analysis
Nicaragua recorded 9.23 deaths per 100,000 people for homicide rate in 2021. That is the lowest value across all 22 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.8% on the previous year and down 33.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicide rate in Nicaragua peaked at 15.06 deaths per 100,000 people in 2009 and was at its lowest, 9.23 deaths per 100,000 people, in 2021.
Nicaragua ranks 46th of 194 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 22 years of available data.
Homicide rate (World Health) in Nicaragua, year by year
| Year | deaths per 100,000 people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 11.48 deaths per 100,000 people | — |
| 2001 | 12.09 deaths per 100,000 people | +5.3% |
| 2002 | 12.59 deaths per 100,000 people | +4.1% |
| 2003 | 13.42 deaths per 100,000 people | +6.6% |
| 2004 | 13.93 deaths per 100,000 people | +3.8% |
| 2005 | 14.62 deaths per 100,000 people | +5.0% |
| 2006 | 14.75 deaths per 100,000 people | +0.9% |
| 2007 | 14.76 deaths per 100,000 people | +0.1% |
| 2008 | 14.88 deaths per 100,000 people | +0.8% |
| 2009 | 15.06 deaths per 100,000 people | +1.2% |
| 2010 | 14.65 deaths per 100,000 people | -2.7% |
| 2011 | 13.81 deaths per 100,000 people | -5.7% |
| 2012 | 12.72 deaths per 100,000 people | -7.9% |
| 2013 | 11.69 deaths per 100,000 people | -8.1% |
| 2014 | 10.75 deaths per 100,000 people | -8.0% |
| 2015 | 10.12 deaths per 100,000 people | -5.9% |
| 2016 | 9.49 deaths per 100,000 people | -6.2% |
| 2017 | 9.47 deaths per 100,000 people | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 9.6 deaths per 100,000 people | +1.4% |
| 2019 | 9.28 deaths per 100,000 people | -3.3% |
| 2020 | 9.3 deaths per 100,000 people | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 9.23 deaths per 100,000 people | -0.8% |
Nicaragua compared with similar countries
- Nicaragua's 9.23 deaths per 100,000 people is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 5.97 deaths per 100,000 people, 1.5× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Nicaragua's 9.23 deaths per 100,000 people is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 14.24 deaths per 100,000 people, 65% of the median. (33 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 13.76 deaths per 100,000 people | 11.48 deaths per 100,000 people | 15.06 deaths per 100,000 people | 10 |
| 2010s | 11.16 deaths per 100,000 people | 9.28 deaths per 100,000 people | 14.65 deaths per 100,000 people | 10 |
| 2020s | 9.27 deaths per 100,000 people | 9.23 deaths per 100,000 people | 9.3 deaths per 100,000 people | 2 |
Countries ranked near Nicaragua
More social development data for Nicaragua
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 311 (2023)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 35,341 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 7 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 7 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.005 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 35,341 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per person (2023)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is homicide rate in Nicaragua?
- Homicide rate in Nicaragua was 9.23 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 Nicaragua?
- The highest recorded value was 15.06 deaths per 100,000 people in 2009.
- What is the lowest homicide rate recorded in Nicaragua?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.23 deaths per 100,000 people in 2021.
- How does Nicaragua rank for homicide rate?
- Nicaragua ranks 46th out of 194 countries with data for 2021.
- Is homicide rate rising or falling in Nicaragua?
- Over the last ten years it is down 33.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Nicaragua 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
Estimated number of deaths from interpersonal violence in both sexes, per 100,000 people.