Homicides by firearm in Sweden
Sweden: Homicides by firearm was 53 homicides in 2023. ▲ Rising
Homicides by firearm in Sweden, 2010–2023
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
Sweden recorded 53 homicides for homicides by firearm in 2023.
The figure is down 15.9% on the previous year and up 103.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides by firearm in Sweden peaked at 63 homicides in 2022 and was at its lowest, 15 homicides, in 2010.
That places Sweden 30th out of 82 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 14 years of available data.
Homicides by firearm in Sweden, year by year
| Year | homicides | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 15 homicides | — |
| 2011 | 17 homicides | +13.3% |
| 2012 | 17 homicides | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 26 homicides | +52.9% |
| 2014 | 28 homicides | +7.7% |
| 2015 | 33 homicides | +17.9% |
| 2016 | 30 homicides | -9.1% |
| 2017 | 40 homicides | +33.3% |
| 2018 | 43 homicides | +7.5% |
| 2019 | 45 homicides | +4.7% |
| 2020 | 48 homicides | +6.7% |
| 2021 | 45 homicides | -6.2% |
| 2022 | 63 homicides | +40.0% |
| 2023 | 53 homicides | -15.9% |
Sweden compared with similar countries
- Sweden's 53 homicides is above the median for high income countries, which is 17 homicides, 3.1× the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Sweden's 53 homicides is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 14.5 homicides, 3.7× the median. (30 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 29.4 homicides | 15 homicides | 45 homicides | 10 |
| 2020s | 52.25 homicides | 45 homicides | 63 homicides | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sweden
More social development data for Sweden
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 144,116 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 128 (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 128 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0136 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 homicides by firearm in Sweden?
- Homicides by firearm in Sweden was 53 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 Sweden?
- The highest recorded value was 63 homicides in 2022.
- What is the lowest homicides by firearm recorded in Sweden?
- The lowest recorded value was 15 homicides in 2010.
- How does Sweden rank for homicides by firearm?
- Sweden ranks 30th out of 82 countries with data for 2023.
- Is homicides by firearm rising or falling in Sweden?
- Over the last ten years it is up 103.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sweden 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 — 14 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.