Homicide rate in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Homicide rate was 0.9353 homicides per 100,000 population in 2019. ▼ Falling
Homicide rate in Saudi Arabia, 1999–2019
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 2019, homicide rate in Saudi Arabia stood at 0.9353 homicides per 100,000 population.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 26.8% on the previous year and down 21.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicide rate in Saudi Arabia peaked at 1.59 homicides per 100,000 population in 2002 and was at its lowest, 0.7377 homicides per 100,000 population, in 2018.
Saudi Arabia ranks 136th of 179 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 11 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.19 homicides per 100,000 population | 1.19 homicides per 100,000 population | 1.19 homicides per 100,000 population | 1 |
| 2000s | 1.34 homicides per 100,000 population | 1.07 homicides per 100,000 population | 1.59 homicides per 100,000 population | 8 |
| 2010s | 0.8365 homicides per 100,000 population | 0.7377 homicides per 100,000 population | 0.9353 homicides per 100,000 population | 2 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
- 133 Finland 0.9819 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 134 Cyprus 0.9571 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 135 Tonga 0.9463 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 137 Germany 0.9107 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 138 Tajikistan 0.8924 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 139 Austria 0.8762 homicides per 100,000 population compare
More social development data for Saudi Arabia
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 448 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 2,368 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 7 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.026 (2025)
- Human Rights Index 0.178 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.047 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.026 (2025)
- Key features of human rights 0.178 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is homicide rate in Saudi Arabia?
- Homicide rate in Saudi Arabia was 0.9353 homicides per 100,000 population in 2019, 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 Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 1.59 homicides per 100,000 population in 2002.
- What is the lowest homicide rate recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.7377 homicides per 100,000 population in 2018.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for homicide rate?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 136th out of 179 countries with data for 2019.
- Is homicide rate rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 21.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia 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.