Homicides in Canada
Canada: Homicides was 778 homicides in 2023. ▲ Rising
Homicides in Canada, 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
The most recent figure for homicides in Canada is 778 homicides, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of down 11.8% on the previous year and up 52.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in Canada peaked at 882 homicides in 2022 and was at its lowest, 509 homicides, in 2013.
That places Canada 41st out of 179 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 627.1 homicides | 539 homicides | 754 homicides | 10 |
| 2000s | 594.9 homicides | 546 homicides | 664 homicides | 10 |
| 2010s | 599.2 homicides | 509 homicides | 689 homicides | 10 |
| 2020s | 806.5 homicides | 765 homicides | 882 homicides | 4 |
Countries ranked near Canada
More social development data for Canada
- Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 416,028 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 360 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Key features of democracy 0.84 (2025)
- Freedom of Expression Index 0.933 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.865 (2025)
- Electoral Democracy Index 0.84 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.589 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.736 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is homicides in Canada?
- Homicides in Canada was 778 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 Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 882 homicides in 2022.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 509 homicides in 2013.
- How does Canada rank for homicides?
- Canada ranks 41st out of 179 countries with data for 2023.
- Is homicides rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is up 52.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Canada 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.