Homicides in China
China: Homicides was 7,157 homicides in 2020. ▼ Falling
Homicides in China, 1995–2020
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
In 2020, homicides in China stood at 7,157 homicides. That is the lowest value across all 22 years on record.
That represents a change of down 3.0% on the previous year and down 46.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in China peaked at 27,356 homicides in 1995 and was at its lowest, 7,157 homicides, in 2020.
That places China 10th out of 179 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 22 years of available data.
Homicides in China, year by year
| Year | homicides | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 27,356 homicides | — |
| 1996 | 25,411 homicides | -7.1% |
| 1997 | 26,070 homicides | +2.6% |
| 2002 | 26,276 homicides | +0.8% |
| 2003 | 24,393 homicides | -7.2% |
| 2004 | 24,711 homicides | +1.3% |
| 2005 | 20,770 homicides | -15.9% |
| 2006 | 17,973 homicides | -13.5% |
| 2007 | 16,119 homicides | -10.3% |
| 2008 | 14,811 homicides | -8.1% |
| 2009 | 14,667 homicides | -1.0% |
| 2010 | 13,410 homicides | -8.6% |
| 2011 | 12,015 homicides | -10.4% |
| 2012 | 11,286 homicides | -6.1% |
| 2013 | 10,640 homicides | -5.7% |
| 2014 | 10,083 homicides | -5.2% |
| 2015 | 9,200 homicides | -8.8% |
| 2016 | 8,634 homicides | -6.2% |
| 2017 | 7,990 homicides | -7.5% |
| 2018 | 7,525 homicides | -5.8% |
| 2019 | 7,379 homicides | -1.9% |
| 2020 | 7,157 homicides | -3.0% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 7,157 homicides is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 241.5 homicides, 29.6× the median. (52 countries reporting)
- China's 7,157 homicides is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 75 homicides, 95.4× the median. (27 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 26,279 homicides | 25,411 homicides | 27,356 homicides | 3 |
| 2000s | 19,965 homicides | 14,667 homicides | 26,276 homicides | 8 |
| 2010s | 9,816 homicides | 7,379 homicides | 13,410 homicides | 10 |
| 2020s | 7,157 homicides | 7,157 homicides | 7,157 homicides | 1 |
Countries ranked near China
More social development data for China
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 230 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 153,962 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 7 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 7 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0001 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 153,962 (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 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is homicides in China?
- Homicides in China was 7,157 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 China?
- The highest recorded value was 27,356 homicides in 1995.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 7,157 homicides in 2020.
- How does China rank for homicides?
- China ranks 10th out of 179 countries with data for 2020.
- Is homicides rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is down 46.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this China 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.