Homicides in Bhutan
Bhutan: Homicides was 19 homicides in 2020. ▼ Falling
Latest (2020)
19 homicides
Change on year
up 137.5%
World rank
136th
of 179 countries
All-time high
33 homicides
in 2012
All-time low
5 homicides
in 2003
Years of data
30
1990–2020
Homicides in Bhutan, 1990–2020
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
Bhutan recorded 19 homicides for homicides in 2020.
That represents a change of up 137.5% on the previous year and up 18.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in Bhutan peaked at 33 homicides in 2012 and was at its lowest, 5 homicides, in 2003.
That places Bhutan 136th out of 179 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 30 years of available data.
Homicides in Bhutan, year by year
| Year | homicides | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 20 homicides | — |
| 1991 | 12 homicides | -40.0% |
| 1992 | 27 homicides | +125.0% |
| 1993 | 19 homicides | -29.6% |
| 1994 | 20 homicides | +5.3% |
| 1995 | 16 homicides | -20.0% |
| 1996 | 12 homicides | -25.0% |
| 1997 | 7 homicides | -41.7% |
| 1998 | 11 homicides | +57.1% |
| 1999 | 13 homicides | +18.2% |
| 2000 | 18 homicides | +38.5% |
| 2001 | 19 homicides | +5.6% |
| 2002 | 19 homicides | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 5 homicides | -73.7% |
| 2004 | 15 homicides | +200.0% |
| 2005 | 11 homicides | -26.7% |
| 2006 | 9 homicides | -18.2% |
| 2007 | 14 homicides | +55.6% |
| 2008 | 18 homicides | +28.6% |
| 2009 | 16 homicides | -11.1% |
| 2010 | 16 homicides | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 32 homicides | +100.0% |
| 2012 | 33 homicides | +3.1% |
| 2013 | 24 homicides | -27.3% |
| 2015 | 12 homicides | -50.0% |
| 2016 | 9 homicides | -25.0% |
| 2017 | 13 homicides | +44.4% |
| 2018 | 9 homicides | -30.8% |
| 2019 | 8 homicides | -11.1% |
| 2020 | 19 homicides | +137.5% |
Bhutan compared with similar countries
- Bhutan's 19 homicides is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 635 homicides, 3% of the median. (33 countries reporting)
- Bhutan's 19 homicides is below the median for South Asia, which is 679.5 homicides, 3% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 15.7 homicides | 7 homicides | 27 homicides | 10 |
| 2000s | 14.4 homicides | 5 homicides | 19 homicides | 10 |
| 2010s | 17.33 homicides | 8 homicides | 33 homicides | 9 |
| 2020s | 19 homicides | 19 homicides | 19 homicides | 1 |
Countries ranked near Bhutan
More social development data for Bhutan
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 7,257 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 2 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0091 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 7,257 (2025)
- Sovereign state gleditsch ward, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of -2.37 % change on previous year (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 Bhutan?
- Homicides in Bhutan was 19 homicides in 2020, 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 Bhutan?
- The highest recorded value was 33 homicides in 2012.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in Bhutan?
- The lowest recorded value was 5 homicides in 2003.
- How does Bhutan rank for homicides?
- Bhutan ranks 136th out of 179 countries with data for 2020.
- Is homicides rising or falling in Bhutan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 18.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Bhutan 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 — 30 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of intentional homicides.