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.
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
- Political Rights Rating 4 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 617,125 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 13,325 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Key features of democracy 0.563 (2025)
- Freedom of Expression Index 0.9 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.793 (2025)
- Electoral Democracy Index 0.563 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.335 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.446 (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.