Homicide rate in Guatemala
Guatemala: Homicide rate was 23.37 homicides per 100,000 population in 2023. ▼ Falling
Homicide rate in Guatemala, 1992–2023
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
Guatemala recorded 23.37 homicides per 100,000 population for homicide rate in 2023.
That represents a change of up 6.0% on the previous year and down 30.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicide rate in Guatemala peaked at 45.71 homicides per 100,000 population in 2009 and was at its lowest, 18.19 homicides per 100,000 population, in 2020.
Guatemala ranks 20th of 179 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 30 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 31.11 homicides per 100,000 population | 23.24 homicides per 100,000 population | 36.82 homicides per 100,000 population | 8 |
| 2000s | 36.85 homicides per 100,000 population | 24.83 homicides per 100,000 population | 45.71 homicides per 100,000 population | 10 |
| 2010s | 33.54 homicides per 100,000 population | 25.94 homicides per 100,000 population | 41.1 homicides per 100,000 population | 8 |
| 2020s | 20.96 homicides per 100,000 population | 18.19 homicides per 100,000 population | 23.37 homicides per 100,000 population | 4 |
Countries ranked near Guatemala
- 17 Saint Martin (French part) 26.9 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 18 Colombia 24.91 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 21 Brazil 19.28 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
More social development data for Guatemala
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 1,586 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 34,994 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 4 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.834 (2025)
- Human Rights Index 0.766 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.523 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 2 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.421 (2025)
- Key features of human rights 0.766 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is homicide rate in Guatemala?
- Homicide rate in Guatemala was 23.37 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 Guatemala?
- The highest recorded value was 45.71 homicides per 100,000 population in 2009.
- What is the lowest homicide rate recorded in Guatemala?
- The lowest recorded value was 18.19 homicides per 100,000 population in 2020.
- How does Guatemala rank for homicide rate?
- Guatemala ranks 20th out of 179 countries with data for 2023.
- Is homicide rate rising or falling in Guatemala?
- Over the last ten years it is down 30.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Guatemala 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.