Homicide rate in Australia
Australia: Homicide rate was 0.8544 homicides per 100,000 population in 2023. ▼ Falling
Homicide rate in Australia, 1990–2023
Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024); United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in homicides per 100,000 population.
Analysis
Australia recorded 0.8544 homicides per 100,000 population for homicide rate in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.8% on the previous year and down 19.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicide rate in Australia peaked at 2.18 homicides per 100,000 population in 1990 and was at its lowest, 0.7436 homicides per 100,000 population, in 2021.
Australia ranks 140th of 179 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 34 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.92 homicides per 100,000 population | 1.72 homicides per 100,000 population | 2.18 homicides per 100,000 population | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.47 homicides per 100,000 population | 1.21 homicides per 100,000 population | 1.89 homicides per 100,000 population | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.9816 homicides per 100,000 population | 0.841 homicides per 100,000 population | 1.1 homicides per 100,000 population | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.824 homicides per 100,000 population | 0.7436 homicides per 100,000 population | 0.8585 homicides per 100,000 population | 4 |
Countries ranked near Australia
- 137 Germany 0.9107 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 138 Tajikistan 0.8924 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 139 Austria 0.8762 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 141 Denmark 0.8406 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 142 Greece 0.8396 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 143 Poland 0.8023 homicides per 100,000 population compare
More social development data for Australia
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 33,415 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 41 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.876 (2025)
- Human Rights Index 0.906 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.793 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 2 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.648 (2025)
- Key features of human rights 0.906 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is homicide rate in Australia?
- Homicide rate in Australia was 0.8544 homicides per 100,000 population in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024); United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest homicide rate recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 2.18 homicides per 100,000 population in 1990.
- What is the lowest homicide rate recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.7436 homicides per 100,000 population in 2021.
- How does Australia rank for homicide rate?
- Australia ranks 140th out of 179 countries with data for 2023.
- Is homicide rate rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 19.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024); United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2025) – with minor 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
Intentional homicide rate per 100,000 population.