Homicide rate (World Health) in Portugal
Portugal: Homicide rate was 0.83 deaths per 100,000 people in 2021. ▼ Falling
Latest (2021)
0.83 deaths per 100,000 people
Change on year
down 4.6%
World rank
171st
of 194 countries
All-time high
1.84 deaths per 100,000 people
in 2002
All-time low
0.83 deaths per 100,000 people
in 2021
Years of data
22
2000–2021
Homicide rate in Portugal, 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 Portugal stood at 0.83 deaths per 100,000 people. That is the lowest value across all 22 years on record.
The figure is down 4.6% on the previous year and down 25.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicide rate in Portugal peaked at 1.84 deaths per 100,000 people in 2002 and was at its lowest, 0.83 deaths per 100,000 people, in 2021.
That places Portugal 171st out of 194 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 22 years of available data.
Homicide rate in Portugal, year by year
| Year | deaths per 100,000 people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1.44 deaths per 100,000 people | — |
| 2001 | 1.55 deaths per 100,000 people | +7.6% |
| 2002 | 1.84 deaths per 100,000 people | +18.7% |
| 2003 | 1.72 deaths per 100,000 people | -6.5% |
| 2004 | 1.66 deaths per 100,000 people | -3.5% |
| 2005 | 1.56 deaths per 100,000 people | -6.0% |
| 2006 | 1.75 deaths per 100,000 people | +12.2% |
| 2007 | 1.25 deaths per 100,000 people | -28.6% |
| 2008 | 1.69 deaths per 100,000 people | +35.2% |
| 2009 | 1.18 deaths per 100,000 people | -30.2% |
| 2010 | 1.49 deaths per 100,000 people | +26.3% |
| 2011 | 1.11 deaths per 100,000 people | -25.5% |
| 2012 | 1.39 deaths per 100,000 people | +25.2% |
| 2013 | 1.31 deaths per 100,000 people | -5.8% |
| 2014 | 1.28 deaths per 100,000 people | -2.3% |
| 2015 | 1.21 deaths per 100,000 people | -5.5% |
| 2016 | 0.97 deaths per 100,000 people | -19.8% |
| 2017 | 0.86 deaths per 100,000 people | -11.3% |
| 2018 | 0.98 deaths per 100,000 people | +14.0% |
| 2019 | 0.94 deaths per 100,000 people | -4.1% |
| 2020 | 0.87 deaths per 100,000 people | -7.4% |
| 2021 | 0.83 deaths per 100,000 people | -4.6% |
Portugal compared with similar countries
- Portugal's 0.83 deaths per 100,000 people is below the median for high income countries, which is 1.06 deaths per 100,000 people, 78% of the median. (63 countries reporting)
- Portugal's 0.83 deaths per 100,000 people is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1.13 deaths per 100,000 people, 73% of the median. (51 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1.56 deaths per 100,000 people | 1.18 deaths per 100,000 people | 1.84 deaths per 100,000 people | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.15 deaths per 100,000 people | 0.86 deaths per 100,000 people | 1.49 deaths per 100,000 people | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.85 deaths per 100,000 people | 0.83 deaths per 100,000 people | 0.87 deaths per 100,000 people | 2 |
Countries ranked near Portugal
- 168 Australia 0.91 deaths per 100,000 people compare
- 169 Malta 0.86 deaths per 100,000 people compare
- 170 Slovenia 0.84 deaths per 100,000 people compare
- 172 Brunei 0.81 deaths per 100,000 people compare
- 173 Croatia 0.78 deaths per 100,000 people compare
- 174 Oman 0.76 deaths per 100,000 people compare
More social development data for Portugal
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 70,349 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 109 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 1 (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 109 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0065 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 Portugal?
- Homicide rate in Portugal was 0.83 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 Portugal?
- The highest recorded value was 1.84 deaths per 100,000 people in 2002.
- What is the lowest homicide rate recorded in Portugal?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.83 deaths per 100,000 people in 2021.
- How does Portugal rank for homicide rate?
- Portugal ranks 171st out of 194 countries with data for 2021.
- Is homicide rate rising or falling in Portugal?
- Over the last ten years it is down 25.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Portugal 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.