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Homicide rate in Sweden

Sweden: Homicide rate was 1.08 deaths per 100,000 people in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
1.08 deaths per 100,000 people
Change on year
down 2.2%
World rank
62nd
of 111 countries
All-time high
1.5 deaths per 100,000 people
in 1989
All-time low
0.5158 deaths per 100,000 people
in 1962
Years of data
73
1951–2023

Homicide rate in Sweden, 1951–2023

0.60.811.21.4195119872023

Source: WHO Mortality Database (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths per 100,000 people.

Analysis

In 2023, homicide rate in Sweden stood at 1.08 deaths per 100,000 people.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.2% on the previous year and up 29.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, homicide rate in Sweden peaked at 1.5 deaths per 100,000 people in 1989 and was at its lowest, 0.5158 deaths per 100,000 people, in 1962.

Sweden ranks 62nd of 111 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 73 years of available data.

Homicide rate in Sweden, year by year

Year deaths per 100,000 people Change
1951 0.6082 deaths per 100,000 people —
1952 0.6737 deaths per 100,000 people +10.8%
1953 0.6554 deaths per 100,000 people -2.7%
1954 0.7763 deaths per 100,000 people +18.5%
1955 0.6609 deaths per 100,000 people -14.9%
1956 0.8885 deaths per 100,000 people +34.4%
1957 0.733 deaths per 100,000 people -17.5%
1958 0.6878 deaths per 100,000 people -6.2%
1959 0.6976 deaths per 100,000 people +1.4%
1960 0.6016 deaths per 100,000 people -13.8%
1961 0.5186 deaths per 100,000 people -13.8%
1962 0.5158 deaths per 100,000 people -0.5%
1963 0.8285 deaths per 100,000 people +60.6%
1964 0.8093 deaths per 100,000 people -2.3%
1965 0.7241 deaths per 100,000 people -10.5%
1966 0.8325 deaths per 100,000 people +15.0%
1967 0.8897 deaths per 100,000 people +6.9%
1968 0.6825 deaths per 100,000 people -23.3%
1969 0.8911 deaths per 100,000 people +30.6%
1970 0.833 deaths per 100,000 people -6.5%
1971 0.9385 deaths per 100,000 people +12.7%
1972 1.07 deaths per 100,000 people +14.1%
1973 1.01 deaths per 100,000 people -5.9%
1974 1.25 deaths per 100,000 people +24.0%
1975 1.15 deaths per 100,000 people -8.2%
1976 1.25 deaths per 100,000 people +9.2%
1977 1.18 deaths per 100,000 people -6.2%
1978 0.9908 deaths per 100,000 people -15.7%
1979 1.35 deaths per 100,000 people +36.3%
1980 1.17 deaths per 100,000 people -13.6%
1981 1.43 deaths per 100,000 people +22.5%
1982 1.21 deaths per 100,000 people -15.2%
1983 1.21 deaths per 100,000 people -0.0%
1984 1.1 deaths per 100,000 people -9.0%
1985 1.25 deaths per 100,000 people +12.9%
1986 1.43 deaths per 100,000 people +15.1%
1987 1.18 deaths per 100,000 people -17.8%
1988 1.39 deaths per 100,000 people +17.6%
1989 1.5 deaths per 100,000 people +7.8%
1990 1.26 deaths per 100,000 people -15.6%
1991 1.45 deaths per 100,000 people +15.0%
1992 1.35 deaths per 100,000 people -7.0%
1993 1.3 deaths per 100,000 people -4.0%
1994 1.22 deaths per 100,000 people -6.0%
1995 0.963 deaths per 100,000 people -21.0%
1996 1.24 deaths per 100,000 people +29.2%
1997 1.07 deaths per 100,000 people -13.7%
1998 1.11 deaths per 100,000 people +3.1%
1999 1.23 deaths per 100,000 people +11.1%
2000 1.03 deaths per 100,000 people -16.6%
2001 0.9667 deaths per 100,000 people -5.7%
2002 1.15 deaths per 100,000 people +19.4%
2003 0.9154 deaths per 100,000 people -20.7%
2004 1.11 deaths per 100,000 people +21.5%
2005 0.9303 deaths per 100,000 people -16.3%
2006 0.87 deaths per 100,000 people -6.5%
2007 1.18 deaths per 100,000 people +35.7%
2008 0.7701 deaths per 100,000 people -34.8%
2009 0.9356 deaths per 100,000 people +21.5%
2010 0.9384 deaths per 100,000 people +0.3%
2011 0.7514 deaths per 100,000 people -19.9%
2012 0.6513 deaths per 100,000 people -13.3%
2013 0.8333 deaths per 100,000 people +27.9%
2014 0.8148 deaths per 100,000 people -2.2%
2015 1.01 deaths per 100,000 people +24.1%
2016 0.8767 deaths per 100,000 people -13.3%
2017 1.07 deaths per 100,000 people +22.5%
2018 1 deaths per 100,000 people -6.6%
2019 1.05 deaths per 100,000 people +4.8%
2020 1.24 deaths per 100,000 people +17.7%
2021 0.9313 deaths per 100,000 people -24.7%
2022 1.11 deaths per 100,000 people +18.8%
2023 1.08 deaths per 100,000 people -2.2%

Sweden compared with similar countries

  • Sweden's 1.08 deaths per 100,000 people is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.7971 deaths per 100,000 people, 1.4× the median. (57 countries reporting)
  • Sweden's 1.08 deaths per 100,000 people is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.8117 deaths per 100,000 people, 1.3× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 0.709 deaths per 100,000 people 0.6082 deaths per 100,000 people 0.8885 deaths per 100,000 people 9
1960s 0.7293 deaths per 100,000 people 0.5158 deaths per 100,000 people 0.8911 deaths per 100,000 people 10
1970s 1.1 deaths per 100,000 people 0.833 deaths per 100,000 people 1.35 deaths per 100,000 people 10
1980s 1.29 deaths per 100,000 people 1.1 deaths per 100,000 people 1.5 deaths per 100,000 people 10
1990s 1.22 deaths per 100,000 people 0.963 deaths per 100,000 people 1.45 deaths per 100,000 people 10
2000s 0.986 deaths per 100,000 people 0.7701 deaths per 100,000 people 1.18 deaths per 100,000 people 10
2010s 0.9003 deaths per 100,000 people 0.6513 deaths per 100,000 people 1.07 deaths per 100,000 people 10
2020s 1.09 deaths per 100,000 people 0.9313 deaths per 100,000 people 1.24 deaths per 100,000 people 4

Countries ranked near Sweden

  1. 59 Turkmenistan 1.13 deaths per 100,000 people compare
  2. 60 Finland 1.12 deaths per 100,000 people compare
  3. 61 North Macedonia 1.09 deaths per 100,000 people compare
  4. 63 Iceland 1.08 deaths per 100,000 people compare
  5. 64 Luxembourg 1.05 deaths per 100,000 people compare
  6. 65 Jamaica 1.04 deaths per 100,000 people compare

See the full ranking of 111 places →

More social development data for Sweden

All data for Sweden →

Frequently asked questions

What is homicide rate in Sweden?
Homicide rate in Sweden was 1.08 deaths per 100,000 people in 2023, according to WHO Mortality Database (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest homicide rate recorded in Sweden?
The highest recorded value was 1.5 deaths per 100,000 people in 1989.
What is the lowest homicide rate recorded in Sweden?
The lowest recorded value was 0.5158 deaths per 100,000 people in 1962.
How does Sweden rank for homicide rate?
Sweden ranks 62nd out of 111 countries with data for 2023.
Is homicide rate rising or falling in Sweden?
Over the last ten years it is up 29.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Sweden data come from?
The figures come from WHO Mortality Database (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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Homicide rate in Sweden. Statizoid, drawing on WHO Mortality Database (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 October 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/homicide-rate-who-age-standardized/sweden/

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About this data

Indicator
Homicide rate
Unit
deaths per 100,000 people
Source
WHO Mortality Database (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
111 places, 4,803 data points, 1950–2023
Last refreshed

Annual number of homicides per 100,000 people.