Homicides in Cameroon
Cameroon: Homicides was 1,868 homicides in 2022. ▲ Rising
Homicides in Cameroon, 2000–2022
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 2022, homicides in Cameroon stood at 1,868 homicides. That is the highest value across all 14 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 55.4% on the previous year and up 112.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in Cameroon peaked at 1,868 homicides in 2022 and was at its lowest, 459 homicides, in 2000.
Cameroon ranks 25th of 179 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 14 years of available data.
Homicides in Cameroon, year by year
| Year | homicides | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 459 homicides | — |
| 2001 | 755 homicides | +64.5% |
| 2002 | 1,031 homicides | +36.6% |
| 2003 | 1,002 homicides | -2.8% |
| 2008 | 776 homicides | -22.6% |
| 2009 | 1,277 homicides | +64.6% |
| 2010 | 999 homicides | -21.8% |
| 2011 | 835 homicides | -16.4% |
| 2012 | 880 homicides | +5.4% |
| 2015 | 861 homicides | -2.2% |
| 2016 | 787 homicides | -8.6% |
| 2017 | 1,004 homicides | +27.6% |
| 2020 | 1,202 homicides | +19.7% |
| 2022 | 1,868 homicides | +55.4% |
Cameroon compared with similar countries
- Cameroon's 1,868 homicides is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 635 homicides, 2.9× the median. (33 countries reporting)
- Cameroon's 1,868 homicides is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 539.5 homicides, 3.5× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 883.33 homicides | 459 homicides | 1,277 homicides | 6 |
| 2010s | 894.33 homicides | 787 homicides | 1,004 homicides | 6 |
| 2020s | 1,535 homicides | 1,202 homicides | 1,868 homicides | 2 |
Countries ranked near Cameroon
More social development data for Cameroon
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 408,613 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 140,366 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 6 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 6 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0047 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 140,366 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0137 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 Cameroon?
- Homicides in Cameroon was 1,868 homicides in 2022, 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 Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 1,868 homicides in 2022.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 459 homicides in 2000.
- How does Cameroon rank for homicides?
- Cameroon ranks 25th out of 179 countries with data for 2022.
- Is homicides rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is up 112.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Cameroon 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.
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About this data
Number of intentional homicides.