Homicide rate in Sweden
Sweden: Homicide rate was 1.15 homicides per 100,000 population in 2023. ▼ Falling
Homicide rate in Sweden, 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 Sweden is 1.15 homicides per 100,000 population, measured in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.7% on the previous year and up 26.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicide rate in Sweden peaked at 1.33 homicides per 100,000 population in 1991 and was at its lowest, 0.7143 homicides per 100,000 population, in 2012.
Sweden ranks 125th of 179 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 34 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.14 homicides per 100,000 population | 0.9835 homicides per 100,000 population | 1.33 homicides per 100,000 population | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.04 homicides per 100,000 population | 0.8894 homicides per 100,000 population | 1.21 homicides per 100,000 population | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.9821 homicides per 100,000 population | 0.7143 homicides per 100,000 population | 1.14 homicides per 100,000 population | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.13 homicides per 100,000 population | 1.08 homicides per 100,000 population | 1.2 homicides per 100,000 population | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sweden
- 122 Iceland 1.29 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 123 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1.22 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 124 Algeria 1.16 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 126 Slovakia 1.12 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 127 Romania 1.12 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 128 United Kingdom 1.12 homicides per 100,000 population compare
More social development data for Sweden
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 144,116 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 128 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.931 (2025)
- Human Rights Index 0.96 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.853 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 2 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.635 (2025)
- Key features of human rights 0.96 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is homicide rate in Sweden?
- Homicide rate in Sweden was 1.15 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 Sweden?
- The highest recorded value was 1.33 homicides per 100,000 population in 1991.
- What is the lowest homicide rate recorded in Sweden?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.7143 homicides per 100,000 population in 2012.
- How does Sweden rank for homicide rate?
- Sweden ranks 125th out of 179 countries with data for 2023.
- Is homicide rate rising or falling in Sweden?
- Over the last ten years it is up 26.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sweden 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.