Homicides in Ghana
Ghana: Homicides was 607 homicides in 2022. ▲ Rising
Homicides in Ghana, 2001–2022
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
Ghana recorded 607 homicides for homicides in 2022.
The figure is up 0.7% on the previous year and up 8.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in Ghana peaked at 609 homicides in 2017 and was at its lowest, 393 homicides, in 2005.
That places Ghana 51st out of 179 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.
Homicides in Ghana, year by year
| Year | homicides | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 433 homicides | — |
| 2002 | 401 homicides | -7.4% |
| 2003 | 436 homicides | +8.7% |
| 2004 | 452 homicides | +3.7% |
| 2005 | 393 homicides | -13.1% |
| 2006 | 412 homicides | +4.8% |
| 2007 | 399 homicides | -3.2% |
| 2008 | 430 homicides | +7.8% |
| 2009 | 427 homicides | -0.7% |
| 2010 | 422 homicides | -1.2% |
| 2011 | 423 homicides | +0.2% |
| 2012 | 560 homicides | +32.4% |
| 2013 | 551 homicides | -1.6% |
| 2014 | 543 homicides | -1.5% |
| 2015 | 525 homicides | -3.3% |
| 2016 | 549 homicides | +4.6% |
| 2017 | 609 homicides | +10.9% |
| 2018 | 500 homicides | -17.9% |
| 2019 | 571 homicides | +14.2% |
| 2020 | 555 homicides | -2.8% |
| 2021 | 603 homicides | +8.6% |
| 2022 | 607 homicides | +0.7% |
Ghana compared with similar countries
- Ghana's 607 homicides is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 635 homicides, 96% of the median. (33 countries reporting)
- Ghana's 607 homicides is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 539.5 homicides, 1.1× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 420.33 homicides | 393 homicides | 452 homicides | 9 |
| 2010s | 525.3 homicides | 422 homicides | 609 homicides | 10 |
| 2020s | 588.33 homicides | 555 homicides | 607 homicides | 3 |
Countries ranked near Ghana
More social development data for Ghana
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 21,050 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 16,030 (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 0.0005 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 16,030 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0006 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 Ghana?
- Homicides in Ghana was 607 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 Ghana?
- The highest recorded value was 609 homicides in 2017.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in Ghana?
- The lowest recorded value was 393 homicides in 2005.
- How does Ghana rank for homicides?
- Ghana ranks 51st out of 179 countries with data for 2022.
- Is homicides rising or falling in Ghana?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ghana 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.