Homicides in Malawi
Malawi: Homicides was 279 homicides in 2012. ▼ Falling
Homicides in Malawi, 2000–2012
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
The most recent figure for homicides in Malawi is 279 homicides, measured in 2012.
The figure is down 18.7% on the previous year and down 50.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in Malawi peaked at 900 homicides in 2001 and was at its lowest, 200 homicides, in 2005.
That places Malawi 72nd out of 179 countries with data for 2012, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 13 years of available data.
Homicides in Malawi, year by year
| Year | homicides | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 700 homicides | — |
| 2001 | 900 homicides | +28.6% |
| 2002 | 567 homicides | -37.0% |
| 2003 | 300 homicides | -47.1% |
| 2004 | 411 homicides | +37.0% |
| 2005 | 200 homicides | -51.3% |
| 2006 | 821 homicides | +310.5% |
| 2007 | 690 homicides | -16.0% |
| 2008 | 780 homicides | +13.0% |
| 2009 | 320 homicides | -59.0% |
| 2010 | 520 homicides | +62.5% |
| 2011 | 343 homicides | -34.0% |
| 2012 | 279 homicides | -18.7% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 279 homicides is below the median for low income countries, which is 553.5 homicides, 50% of the median. (10 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 279 homicides is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 539.5 homicides, 52% of the median. (22 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Homicides in Malawi 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | +310.5% | 200 homicides | 821 homicides |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 568.9 homicides | 200 homicides | 900 homicides | 10 |
| 2010s | 380.67 homicides | 279 homicides | 520 homicides | 3 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More social development data for Malawi
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 35,241 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 551 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate -33.33 % 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 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 551 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0016 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 Malawi?
- Homicides in Malawi was 279 homicides in 2012, 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 Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 900 homicides in 2001.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 200 homicides in 2005.
- How does Malawi rank for homicides?
- Malawi ranks 72nd out of 179 countries with data for 2012.
- Is homicides rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is down 50.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malawi 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 — 13 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of intentional homicides.