Homicides in Australia
Australia: Homicides was 226 homicides in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
226 homicides
Change on year
up 2.7%
World rank
77th
of 179 countries
All-time high
385 homicides
in 1999
All-time low
193 homicides
in 2021
Years of data
34
1990–2023
Homicides in Australia, 1990–2023
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
Australia recorded 226 homicides for homicides in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.7% on the previous year and down 7.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in Australia peaked at 385 homicides in 1999 and was at its lowest, 193 homicides, in 2021.
That places Australia 77th out of 179 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 34 years of available data.
Homicides in Australia, year by year
| Year | homicides | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 374 homicides | — |
| 1991 | 340 homicides | -9.1% |
| 1992 | 301 homicides | -11.5% |
| 1993 | 333 homicides | +10.6% |
| 1994 | 320 homicides | -3.9% |
| 1995 | 356 homicides | +11.2% |
| 1996 | 354 homicides | -0.6% |
| 1997 | 364 homicides | +2.8% |
| 1998 | 334 homicides | -8.2% |
| 1999 | 385 homicides | +15.3% |
| 2000 | 362 homicides | -6.0% |
| 2001 | 347 homicides | -4.1% |
| 2002 | 366 homicides | +5.5% |
| 2003 | 302 homicides | -17.5% |
| 2004 | 263 homicides | -12.9% |
| 2005 | 259 homicides | -1.5% |
| 2006 | 281 homicides | +8.5% |
| 2007 | 255 homicides | -9.3% |
| 2008 | 261 homicides | +2.4% |
| 2009 | 263 homicides | +0.8% |
| 2010 | 231 homicides | -12.2% |
| 2011 | 248 homicides | +7.4% |
| 2012 | 243 homicides | -2.0% |
| 2013 | 245 homicides | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 243 homicides | -0.8% |
| 2015 | 236 homicides | -2.9% |
| 2016 | 227 homicides | -3.8% |
| 2017 | 208 homicides | -8.4% |
| 2018 | 221 homicides | +6.2% |
| 2019 | 225 homicides | +1.8% |
| 2020 | 221 homicides | -1.8% |
| 2021 | 193 homicides | -12.7% |
| 2022 | 220 homicides | +14.0% |
| 2023 | 226 homicides | +2.7% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 226 homicides is above the median for high income countries, which is 52.5 homicides, 4.3× the median. (76 countries reporting)
- Australia's 226 homicides is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 75 homicides, 3.0× the median. (27 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 346.1 homicides | 301 homicides | 385 homicides | 10 |
| 2000s | 295.9 homicides | 255 homicides | 366 homicides | 10 |
| 2010s | 232.7 homicides | 208 homicides | 248 homicides | 10 |
| 2020s | 215 homicides | 193 homicides | 226 homicides | 4 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More social development data for Australia
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 33,415 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 41 (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 41 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0012 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 in Australia?
- Homicides in Australia was 226 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 recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 385 homicides in 1999.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 193 homicides in 2021.
- How does Australia rank for homicides?
- Australia ranks 77th out of 179 countries with data for 2023.
- Is homicides rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Australia 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. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of intentional homicides.