Homicide rate in Malaysia
Malaysia: Homicide rate was 0.7345 homicides per 100,000 population in 2023. ▼ Falling
Homicide rate in Malaysia, 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
The most recent figure for homicide rate in Malaysia is 0.7345 homicides per 100,000 population, measured in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 6.2% on the previous year and down 64.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicide rate in Malaysia peaked at 2.87 homicides per 100,000 population in 1998 and was at its lowest, 0.6917 homicides per 100,000 population, in 2022.
That places Malaysia 146th out of 179 countries with data for 2023, putting it 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 | 2.15 homicides per 100,000 population | 1.7 homicides per 100,000 population | 2.87 homicides per 100,000 population | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.23 homicides per 100,000 population | 1.97 homicides per 100,000 population | 2.41 homicides per 100,000 population | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.56 homicides per 100,000 population | 0.927 homicides per 100,000 population | 2.08 homicides per 100,000 population | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.7204 homicides per 100,000 population | 0.6917 homicides per 100,000 population | 0.7465 homicides per 100,000 population | 4 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
- 143 Poland 0.8023 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 144 Montenegro 0.7892 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 145 Czechia 0.7678 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 147 Norway 0.7247 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 148 Hungary 0.7227 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 149 Portugal 0.72 homicides per 100,000 population compare
More social development data for Malaysia
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 150,164 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 2,477 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 4 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.791 (2025)
- Human Rights Index 0.739 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.355 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 2 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.303 (2025)
- Key features of human rights 0.739 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is homicide rate in Malaysia?
- Homicide rate in Malaysia was 0.7345 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 Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 2.87 homicides per 100,000 population in 1998.
- What is the lowest homicide rate recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.6917 homicides per 100,000 population in 2022.
- How does Malaysia rank for homicide rate?
- Malaysia ranks 146th out of 179 countries with data for 2023.
- Is homicide rate rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 64.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malaysia 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.