Homicide rate (World Health) in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Homicide rate (World Health) was 10.4 deaths per 100,000 people in 2021. ▲ Rising
Homicide rate in Papua New Guinea, 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 Papua New Guinea stood at 10.4 deaths per 100,000 people. That is the highest value across all 22 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.3% on the previous year and up 13.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicide rate in Papua New Guinea peaked at 10.4 deaths per 100,000 people in 2021 and was at its lowest, 8.44 deaths per 100,000 people, in 2000.
That places Papua New Guinea 39th out of 194 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.
Homicide rate (World Health) in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | deaths per 100,000 people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 8.44 deaths per 100,000 people | — |
| 2001 | 8.71 deaths per 100,000 people | +3.2% |
| 2002 | 8.45 deaths per 100,000 people | -3.0% |
| 2003 | 9.34 deaths per 100,000 people | +10.5% |
| 2004 | 9.12 deaths per 100,000 people | -2.4% |
| 2005 | 9.45 deaths per 100,000 people | +3.6% |
| 2006 | 9.31 deaths per 100,000 people | -1.5% |
| 2007 | 9.13 deaths per 100,000 people | -1.9% |
| 2008 | 9.41 deaths per 100,000 people | +3.1% |
| 2009 | 9.41 deaths per 100,000 people | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 9.38 deaths per 100,000 people | -0.3% |
| 2011 | 9.17 deaths per 100,000 people | -2.2% |
| 2012 | 10.22 deaths per 100,000 people | +11.5% |
| 2013 | 10.18 deaths per 100,000 people | -0.4% |
| 2014 | 10.15 deaths per 100,000 people | -0.3% |
| 2015 | 10.1 deaths per 100,000 people | -0.5% |
| 2016 | 10.05 deaths per 100,000 people | -0.5% |
| 2017 | 10.01 deaths per 100,000 people | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 10.18 deaths per 100,000 people | +1.7% |
| 2019 | 10.22 deaths per 100,000 people | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 10.27 deaths per 100,000 people | +0.5% |
| 2021 | 10.4 deaths per 100,000 people | +1.3% |
Papua New Guinea compared with similar countries
- Papua New Guinea's 10.4 deaths per 100,000 people is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 5.97 deaths per 100,000 people, 1.7× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Papua New Guinea's 10.4 deaths per 100,000 people is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 3.82 deaths per 100,000 people, 2.7× the median. (30 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 9.08 deaths per 100,000 people | 8.44 deaths per 100,000 people | 9.45 deaths per 100,000 people | 10 |
| 2010s | 9.97 deaths per 100,000 people | 9.17 deaths per 100,000 people | 10.22 deaths per 100,000 people | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.34 deaths per 100,000 people | 10.27 deaths per 100,000 people | 10.4 deaths per 100,000 people | 2 |
Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea
More social development data for Papua New Guinea
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 7,727 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 644 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 4 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 4 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0001 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 644 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0007 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 Papua New Guinea?
- Homicide rate in Papua New Guinea was 10.4 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 Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 10.4 deaths per 100,000 people in 2021.
- What is the lowest homicide rate recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.44 deaths per 100,000 people in 2000.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for homicide rate?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 39th out of 194 countries with data for 2021.
- Is homicide rate rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Papua New Guinea 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.