Homicides in Kenya
Kenya: Homicides was 2,643 homicides in 2022. ▲ Rising
Homicides in Kenya, 2004–2022
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
Kenya recorded 2,643 homicides for homicides in 2022.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 5.5% on the previous year and up 11.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in Kenya peaked at 2,796 homicides in 2021 and was at its lowest, 1,084 homicides, in 2005.
That places Kenya 22nd out of 179 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 18 years of available data.
Homicides in Kenya, year by year
| Year | homicides | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 1,200 homicides | — |
| 2005 | 1,084 homicides | -9.7% |
| 2006 | 1,106 homicides | +2.1% |
| 2007 | 1,102 homicides | -0.4% |
| 2008 | 1,215 homicides | +10.3% |
| 2009 | 1,907 homicides | +57.0% |
| 2010 | 1,926 homicides | +1.0% |
| 2011 | 2,271 homicides | +17.9% |
| 2012 | 2,374 homicides | +4.5% |
| 2014 | 2,305 homicides | -2.9% |
| 2015 | 2,261 homicides | -1.9% |
| 2016 | 2,363 homicides | +4.5% |
| 2017 | 2,466 homicides | +4.4% |
| 2018 | 1,569 homicides | -36.4% |
| 2019 | 1,576 homicides | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 1,859 homicides | +18.0% |
| 2021 | 2,796 homicides | +50.4% |
| 2022 | 2,643 homicides | -5.5% |
Kenya compared with similar countries
- Kenya's 2,643 homicides is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 635 homicides, 4.2× the median. (33 countries reporting)
- Kenya's 2,643 homicides is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 539.5 homicides, 4.9× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Homicides in Kenya changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | +57.0% | 1,215 homicides | 1,907 homicides |
| 2021 | +50.4% | 1,859 homicides | 2,796 homicides |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1,269 homicides | 1,084 homicides | 1,907 homicides | 6 |
| 2010s | 2,123 homicides | 1,569 homicides | 2,466 homicides | 9 |
| 2020s | 2,433 homicides | 1,859 homicides | 2,796 homicides | 3 |
Countries ranked near Kenya
More social development data for Kenya
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 617,125 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 13,325 (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 0.0002 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 13,325 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0107 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 Kenya?
- Homicides in Kenya was 2,643 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 Kenya?
- The highest recorded value was 2,796 homicides in 2021.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in Kenya?
- The lowest recorded value was 1,084 homicides in 2005.
- How does Kenya rank for homicides?
- Kenya ranks 22nd out of 179 countries with data for 2022.
- Is homicides rising or falling in Kenya?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Kenya 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 — 18 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of intentional homicides.