Homicide rate from firearms in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Homicide rate from firearms was 14.24 homicides per 100,000 population in 2023. ▲ Rising
Homicide rate from firearms in Costa Rica, 2006–2023
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 from firearms in Costa Rica is 14.24 homicides per 100,000 population, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 18 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 53.3% on the previous year and up 141.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicide rate from firearms in Costa Rica peaked at 14.24 homicides per 100,000 population in 2023 and was at its lowest, 5.02 homicides per 100,000 population, in 2006.
That places Costa Rica 13th out of 82 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 18 years of available data.
Homicide rate from firearms in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | homicides per 100,000 population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 5.02 homicides per 100,000 population | — |
| 2007 | 5.16 homicides per 100,000 population | +2.7% |
| 2008 | 7.82 homicides per 100,000 population | +51.5% |
| 2009 | 7.51 homicides per 100,000 population | -3.9% |
| 2010 | 7.66 homicides per 100,000 population | +2.0% |
| 2011 | 6.51 homicides per 100,000 population | -15.0% |
| 2012 | 5.6 homicides per 100,000 population | -14.0% |
| 2013 | 5.89 homicides per 100,000 population | +5.3% |
| 2014 | 6.86 homicides per 100,000 population | +16.4% |
| 2015 | 7.99 homicides per 100,000 population | +16.5% |
| 2016 | 7.89 homicides per 100,000 population | -1.3% |
| 2017 | 8.85 homicides per 100,000 population | +12.2% |
| 2018 | 8.09 homicides per 100,000 population | -8.6% |
| 2019 | 7.6 homicides per 100,000 population | -6.0% |
| 2020 | 8.04 homicides per 100,000 population | +5.8% |
| 2021 | 8.46 homicides per 100,000 population | +5.1% |
| 2022 | 9.29 homicides per 100,000 population | +9.8% |
| 2023 | 14.24 homicides per 100,000 population | +53.3% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 14.24 homicides per 100,000 population is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.21 homicides per 100,000 population, 67.8× the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 14.24 homicides per 100,000 population is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 8.57 homicides per 100,000 population, 1.7× the median. (29 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 6.38 homicides per 100,000 population | 5.02 homicides per 100,000 population | 7.82 homicides per 100,000 population | 4 |
| 2010s | 7.29 homicides per 100,000 population | 5.6 homicides per 100,000 population | 8.85 homicides per 100,000 population | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.01 homicides per 100,000 population | 8.04 homicides per 100,000 population | 14.24 homicides per 100,000 population | 4 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
- 10 Colombia 17.85 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 11 Mexico 17.23 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 12 Dominica 15.04 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 14 Panama 10 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 15 Antigua and Barbuda 8.57 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 16 Uruguay 7.08 homicides per 100,000 population compare
More social development data for Costa Rica
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 36,395 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 367 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 1 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0001 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 367 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0071 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is homicide rate from firearms in Costa Rica?
- Homicide rate from firearms in Costa Rica was 14.24 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 from firearms recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 14.24 homicides per 100,000 population in 2023.
- What is the lowest homicide rate from firearms recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.02 homicides per 100,000 population in 2006.
- How does Costa Rica rank for homicide rate from firearms?
- Costa Rica ranks 13th out of 82 countries with data for 2023.
- Is homicide rate from firearms rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 141.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica 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 from firearms. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 18 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Intentional homicide rate per 100,000 population where the weapon was a firearm.