Homicide rate in China
China: Homicide rate was 0.5019 homicides per 100,000 population in 2020. ▼ Falling
Homicide rate in China, 1995–2020
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
In 2020, homicide rate in China stood at 0.5019 homicides per 100,000 population. That is the lowest value across all 22 years on record.
That represents a change of down 3.2% on the previous year and down 49.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicide rate in China peaked at 2.24 homicides per 100,000 population in 1995 and was at its lowest, 0.5019 homicides per 100,000 population, in 2020.
That places China 162nd out of 179 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 22 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 2.14 homicides per 100,000 population | 2.06 homicides per 100,000 population | 2.24 homicides per 100,000 population | 3 |
| 2000s | 1.52 homicides per 100,000 population | 1.09 homicides per 100,000 population | 2.04 homicides per 100,000 population | 8 |
| 2010s | 0.7086 homicides per 100,000 population | 0.5184 homicides per 100,000 population | 0.9922 homicides per 100,000 population | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.5019 homicides per 100,000 population | 0.5019 homicides per 100,000 population | 0.5019 homicides per 100,000 population | 1 |
Countries ranked near China
- 159 Slovenia 0.5665 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 161 Macao 0.5603 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 163 Brunei 0.4864 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 164 South Korea 0.4773 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 165 Hong Kong 0.3762 homicides per 100,000 population compare
More social development data for China
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 230 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 153,962 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 7 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.03 (2025)
- Human Rights Index 0.179 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.039 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.036 (2025)
- Key features of human rights 0.179 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is homicide rate in China?
- Homicide rate in China was 0.5019 homicides per 100,000 population in 2020, 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 China?
- The highest recorded value was 2.24 homicides per 100,000 population in 1995.
- What is the lowest homicide rate recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.5019 homicides per 100,000 population in 2020.
- How does China rank for homicide rate?
- China ranks 162nd out of 179 countries with data for 2020.
- Is homicide rate rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is down 49.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this China 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.