Homicides in Guatemala
Guatemala: Homicides was 4,235 homicides in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
4,235 homicides
Change on year
up 7.6%
World rank
14th
of 179 countries
All-time high
6,498 homicides
in 2009
All-time low
2,655 homicides
in 1999
Years of data
30
1992–2023
Homicides in Guatemala, 1992–2023
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 Guatemala stood at 4,235 homicides.
That represents a change of up 7.6% on the previous year and down 17.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in Guatemala peaked at 6,498 homicides in 2009 and was at its lowest, 2,655 homicides, in 1999.
Guatemala ranks 14th of 179 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 30 years of available data.
Homicides in Guatemala, year by year
| Year | homicides | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 2,669 homicides | — |
| 1993 | 3,231 homicides | +21.1% |
| 1994 | 3,239 homicides | +0.2% |
| 1995 | 3,260 homicides | +0.6% |
| 1996 | 3,619 homicides | +11.0% |
| 1997 | 3,998 homicides | +10.5% |
| 1998 | 3,310 homicides | -17.2% |
| 1999 | 2,655 homicides | -19.8% |
| 2000 | 2,904 homicides | +9.4% |
| 2001 | 3,230 homicides | +11.2% |
| 2002 | 3,631 homicides | +12.4% |
| 2003 | 4,237 homicides | +16.7% |
| 2004 | 4,507 homicides | +6.4% |
| 2005 | 5,338 homicides | +18.4% |
| 2006 | 5,885 homicides | +10.2% |
| 2007 | 5,781 homicides | -1.8% |
| 2008 | 6,292 homicides | +8.8% |
| 2009 | 6,498 homicides | +3.3% |
| 2010 | 5,960 homicides | -8.3% |
| 2011 | 5,681 homicides | -4.7% |
| 2012 | 5,155 homicides | -9.3% |
| 2013 | 5,155 homicides | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 5,253 homicides | +1.9% |
| 2017 | 5,435 homicides | +3.5% |
| 2018 | 4,869 homicides | -10.4% |
| 2019 | 4,437 homicides | -8.9% |
| 2020 | 3,157 homicides | -28.8% |
| 2021 | 3,563 homicides | +12.9% |
| 2022 | 3,935 homicides | +10.4% |
| 2023 | 4,235 homicides | +7.6% |
Guatemala compared with similar countries
- Guatemala's 4,235 homicides is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 241.5 homicides, 17.5× the median. (52 countries reporting)
- Guatemala's 4,235 homicides is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 489 homicides, 8.7× the median. (41 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 3,248 homicides | 2,655 homicides | 3,998 homicides | 8 |
| 2000s | 4,830 homicides | 2,904 homicides | 6,498 homicides | 10 |
| 2010s | 5,243 homicides | 4,437 homicides | 5,960 homicides | 8 |
| 2020s | 3,722 homicides | 3,157 homicides | 4,235 homicides | 4 |
Countries ranked near Guatemala
More social development data for Guatemala
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1,586 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 34,994 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 4 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 4 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0019 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 34,994 (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 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is homicides in Guatemala?
- Homicides in Guatemala was 4,235 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 Guatemala?
- The highest recorded value was 6,498 homicides in 2009.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in Guatemala?
- The lowest recorded value was 2,655 homicides in 1999.
- How does Guatemala rank for homicides?
- Guatemala ranks 14th out of 179 countries with data for 2023.
- Is homicides rising or falling in Guatemala?
- Over the last ten years it is down 17.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Guatemala 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 — 30 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of intentional homicides.