Homicide rate from firearms in Switzerland
Switzerland: Homicide rate from firearms was 0.1353 homicides per 100,000 population in 2023. ▼ Falling
Homicide rate from firearms in Switzerland, 2009–2023
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
Switzerland recorded 0.1353 homicides per 100,000 population for homicide rate from firearms in 2023.
That represents a change of up 8.1% on the previous year and down 39.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicide rate from firearms in Switzerland peaked at 0.3102 homicides per 100,000 population in 2009 and was at its lowest, 0.0855 homicides per 100,000 population, in 2014.
Switzerland ranks 59th of 82 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 15 years of available data.
Homicide rate from firearms in Switzerland, year by year
| Year | homicides per 100,000 population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 0.3102 homicides per 100,000 population | — |
| 2010 | 0.1661 homicides per 100,000 population | -46.4% |
| 2011 | 0.278 homicides per 100,000 population | +67.3% |
| 2012 | 0.1625 homicides per 100,000 population | -41.5% |
| 2013 | 0.2225 homicides per 100,000 population | +36.9% |
| 2014 | 0.0855 homicides per 100,000 population | -61.6% |
| 2015 | 0.2052 homicides per 100,000 population | +140.1% |
| 2016 | 0.191 homicides per 100,000 population | -6.9% |
| 2017 | 0.1656 homicides per 100,000 population | -13.3% |
| 2018 | 0.1526 homicides per 100,000 population | -7.8% |
| 2019 | 0.1282 homicides per 100,000 population | -16.0% |
| 2020 | 0.1042 homicides per 100,000 population | -18.8% |
| 2021 | 0.0919 homicides per 100,000 population | -11.8% |
| 2022 | 0.1251 homicides per 100,000 population | +36.2% |
| 2023 | 0.1353 homicides per 100,000 population | +8.1% |
Switzerland compared with similar countries
- Switzerland's 0.1353 homicides per 100,000 population is below the median for high income countries, which is 0.21 homicides per 100,000 population, 64% of the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Switzerland's 0.1353 homicides per 100,000 population is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.1796 homicides per 100,000 population, 75% of the median. (30 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0.3102 homicides per 100,000 population | 0.3102 homicides per 100,000 population | 0.3102 homicides per 100,000 population | 1 |
| 2010s | 0.1757 homicides per 100,000 population | 0.0855 homicides per 100,000 population | 0.278 homicides per 100,000 population | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.1141 homicides per 100,000 population | 0.0919 homicides per 100,000 population | 0.1353 homicides per 100,000 population | 4 |
Countries ranked near Switzerland
- 56 Azerbaijan 0.1661 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 57 Moldova 0.163 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 58 Netherlands 0.1603 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 60 Spain 0.1106 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 61 Slovakia 0.1087 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 62 Algeria 0.1083 homicides per 100,000 population compare
More social development data for Switzerland
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 208,287 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 6 (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 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 6 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0229 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 Switzerland?
- Homicide rate from firearms in Switzerland was 0.1353 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 Switzerland?
- The highest recorded value was 0.3102 homicides per 100,000 population in 2009.
- What is the lowest homicide rate from firearms recorded in Switzerland?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0855 homicides per 100,000 population in 2014.
- How does Switzerland rank for homicide rate from firearms?
- Switzerland ranks 59th out of 82 countries with data for 2023.
- Is homicide rate from firearms rising or falling in Switzerland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 39.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Switzerland 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 — 15 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.