Homicides by firearm in Jamaica
Jamaica: Homicides by firearm was 1,189 homicides in 2023. ▲ Rising
Homicides by firearm in Jamaica, 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.
Analysis
In 2023, homicides by firearm in Jamaica stood at 1,189 homicides.
That represents a change of down 5.9% on the previous year and up 34.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides by firearm in Jamaica peaked at 1,344 homicides in 2017 and was at its lowest, 715 homicides, in 2014.
That places Jamaica 10th 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.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1,200 homicides | 1,008 homicides | 1,291 homicides | 4 |
| 2010s | 981.8 homicides | 715 homicides | 1,344 homicides | 10 |
| 2020s | 1,205 homicides | 1,118 homicides | 1,264 homicides | 4 |
Countries ranked near Jamaica
More social development data for Jamaica
- Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 31 (2022)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 2,642 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Key features of democracy 0.805 (2025)
- Freedom of Expression Index 0.919 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.879 (2025)
- Electoral Democracy Index 0.805 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.524 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.679 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is homicides by firearm in Jamaica?
- Homicides by firearm in Jamaica was 1,189 homicides 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 homicides by firearm recorded in Jamaica?
- The highest recorded value was 1,344 homicides in 2017.
- What is the lowest homicides by firearm recorded in Jamaica?
- The lowest recorded value was 715 homicides in 2014.
- How does Jamaica rank for homicides by firearm?
- Jamaica ranks 10th out of 82 countries with data for 2023.
- Is homicides by firearm rising or falling in Jamaica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 34.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Jamaica 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 Homicides by firearm. 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
Number of intentional homicides where the weapon was a firearm.