Homicide rate in Brazil
Brazil: Homicide rate was 19.28 homicides per 100,000 population in 2023. ▲ Rising
Homicide rate in Brazil, 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
Brazil recorded 19.28 homicides per 100,000 population for homicide rate in 2023.
That represents a change of down 4.0% on the previous year and down 32.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicide rate in Brazil peaked at 31.16 homicides per 100,000 population in 2017 and was at its lowest, 16.83 homicides per 100,000 population, in 1992.
Brazil ranks 21st of 179 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 21.05 homicides per 100,000 population | 16.83 homicides per 100,000 population | 25 homicides per 100,000 population | 10 |
| 2000s | 26.64 homicides per 100,000 population | 25.31 homicides per 100,000 population | 28.27 homicides per 100,000 population | 10 |
| 2010s | 27.94 homicides per 100,000 population | 21.24 homicides per 100,000 population | 31.16 homicides per 100,000 population | 10 |
| 2020s | 20.42 homicides per 100,000 population | 19.28 homicides per 100,000 population | 21.81 homicides per 100,000 population | 4 |
Countries ranked near Brazil
- 18 Colombia 24.91 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 19 Mexico 24.86 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 20 Guatemala 23.37 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 22 Guyana 19.12 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 23 Costa Rica 17.75 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 24 Curacao 16.92 homicides per 100,000 population compare
More social development data for Brazil
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 278,966 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 6,306 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.882 (2025)
- Human Rights Index 0.871 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.704 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 2 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.528 (2025)
- Key features of human rights 0.871 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is homicide rate in Brazil?
- Homicide rate in Brazil was 19.28 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 Brazil?
- The highest recorded value was 31.16 homicides per 100,000 population in 2017.
- What is the lowest homicide rate recorded in Brazil?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.83 homicides per 100,000 population in 1992.
- How does Brazil rank for homicide rate?
- Brazil ranks 21st out of 179 countries with data for 2023.
- Is homicide rate rising or falling in Brazil?
- Over the last ten years it is down 32.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Brazil 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.