Homicide rate in Zambia
Zambia: Homicide rate was 5.2 homicides per 100,000 population in 2015. ▼ Falling
Homicide rate in Zambia, 1990–2015
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 Zambia is 5.2 homicides per 100,000 population, measured in 2015.
That represents a change of up 0.2% on the previous year and down 2.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicide rate in Zambia peaked at 11.01 homicides per 100,000 population in 1999 and was at its lowest, 5.19 homicides per 100,000 population, in 2014.
That places Zambia 61st out of 179 countries with data for 2015, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 16 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 9.12 homicides per 100,000 population | 7.06 homicides per 100,000 population | 11.01 homicides per 100,000 population | 7 |
| 2000s | 6.43 homicides per 100,000 population | 5.33 homicides per 100,000 population | 7.96 homicides per 100,000 population | 3 |
| 2010s | 5.63 homicides per 100,000 population | 5.19 homicides per 100,000 population | 5.98 homicides per 100,000 population | 6 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
- 58 Burundi 5.65 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 59 Mongolia 5.64 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 60 Greenland 5.35 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 62 Liechtenstein 5.12 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 63 Kenya 4.87 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 64 Thailand 4.79 homicides per 100,000 population compare
More social development data for Zambia
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 83,225 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 346 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 4 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.746 (2025)
- Human Rights Index 0.773 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.375 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.348 (2025)
- Key features of human rights 0.773 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is homicide rate in Zambia?
- Homicide rate in Zambia was 5.2 homicides per 100,000 population in 2015, 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 Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 11.01 homicides per 100,000 population in 1999.
- What is the lowest homicide rate recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.19 homicides per 100,000 population in 2014.
- How does Zambia rank for homicide rate?
- Zambia ranks 61st out of 179 countries with data for 2015.
- Is homicide rate rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Zambia 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.