Homicides in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Homicides was 906 homicides in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
906 homicides
Change on year
up 38.1%
World rank
36th
of 179 countries
All-time high
906 homicides
in 2023
All-time low
132 homicides
in 1991
Years of data
34
1990–2023
Homicides in Costa Rica, 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
In 2023, homicides in Costa Rica stood at 906 homicides. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.
That represents a change of up 38.1% on the previous year and up 120.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in Costa Rica peaked at 906 homicides in 2023 and was at its lowest, 132 homicides, in 1991.
Costa Rica ranks 36th of 179 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Homicides in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | homicides | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 139 homicides | — |
| 1991 | 132 homicides | -5.0% |
| 1992 | 160 homicides | +21.2% |
| 1993 | 160 homicides | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 182 homicides | +13.8% |
| 1995 | 184 homicides | +1.1% |
| 1996 | 189 homicides | +2.7% |
| 1997 | 210 homicides | +11.1% |
| 1998 | 224 homicides | +6.7% |
| 1999 | 245 homicides | +9.4% |
| 2000 | 249 homicides | +1.6% |
| 2001 | 257 homicides | +3.2% |
| 2002 | 258 homicides | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 300 homicides | +16.3% |
| 2004 | 280 homicides | -6.7% |
| 2005 | 335 homicides | +19.6% |
| 2006 | 351 homicides | +4.8% |
| 2007 | 369 homicides | +5.1% |
| 2008 | 512 homicides | +38.8% |
| 2009 | 525 homicides | +2.5% |
| 2010 | 527 homicides | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 474 homicides | -10.1% |
| 2012 | 407 homicides | -14.1% |
| 2013 | 411 homicides | +1.0% |
| 2014 | 477 homicides | +16.1% |
| 2015 | 557 homicides | +16.8% |
| 2016 | 578 homicides | +3.8% |
| 2017 | 603 homicides | +4.3% |
| 2018 | 585 homicides | -3.0% |
| 2019 | 563 homicides | -3.8% |
| 2020 | 570 homicides | +1.2% |
| 2021 | 588 homicides | +3.2% |
| 2022 | 656 homicides | +11.6% |
| 2023 | 906 homicides | +38.1% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 906 homicides is above the median for high income countries, which is 52.5 homicides, 17.3× the median. (76 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 906 homicides is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 489 homicides, 1.9× the median. (41 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 182.5 homicides | 132 homicides | 245 homicides | 10 |
| 2000s | 343.6 homicides | 249 homicides | 525 homicides | 10 |
| 2010s | 518.2 homicides | 407 homicides | 603 homicides | 10 |
| 2020s | 680 homicides | 570 homicides | 906 homicides | 4 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More social development data for Costa Rica
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 36,395 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 367 (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 0.0001 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 367 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0071 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 Costa Rica?
- Homicides in Costa Rica was 906 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 Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 906 homicides in 2023.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 132 homicides in 1991.
- How does Costa Rica rank for homicides?
- Costa Rica ranks 36th out of 179 countries with data for 2023.
- Is homicides rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 120.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica 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.