Homicide rate in Nicaragua
Nicaragua: Homicide rate was 11.35 homicides per 100,000 population in 2021. ▼ Falling
Homicide rate in Nicaragua, 1990–2021
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 Nicaragua is 11.35 homicides per 100,000 population, measured in 2021.
That represents a change of up 42.9% on the previous year and down 10.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicide rate in Nicaragua peaked at 18.96 homicides per 100,000 population in 1992 and was at its lowest, 6.82 homicides per 100,000 population, in 2017.
Nicaragua ranks 32nd of 179 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 31 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 15.31 homicides per 100,000 population | 11.32 homicides per 100,000 population | 18.96 homicides per 100,000 population | 10 |
| 2000s | 12.26 homicides per 100,000 population | 9.48 homicides per 100,000 population | 14.18 homicides per 100,000 population | 10 |
| 2010s | 9.76 homicides per 100,000 population | 6.82 homicides per 100,000 population | 13.68 homicides per 100,000 population | 10 |
| 2020s | 11.35 homicides per 100,000 population | 11.35 homicides per 100,000 population | 11.35 homicides per 100,000 population | 1 |
Countries ranked near Nicaragua
- 29 Eswatini 12.51 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 30 Panama 11.71 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 31 Botswana 11.37 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 33 Uruguay 11.25 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 34 Namibia 11.21 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 35 Dominican Republic 10.92 homicides per 100,000 population compare
More social development data for Nicaragua
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 311 (2023)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 35,341 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 7 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.042 (2025)
- Human Rights Index 0.077 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.019 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.098 (2025)
- Key features of human rights 0.077 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is homicide rate in Nicaragua?
- Homicide rate in Nicaragua was 11.35 homicides per 100,000 population in 2021, 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 Nicaragua?
- The highest recorded value was 18.96 homicides per 100,000 population in 1992.
- What is the lowest homicide rate recorded in Nicaragua?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.82 homicides per 100,000 population in 2017.
- How does Nicaragua rank for homicide rate?
- Nicaragua ranks 32nd out of 179 countries with data for 2021.
- Is homicide rate rising or falling in Nicaragua?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Nicaragua 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.