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.
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
- Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 35,241 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 551 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Key features of democracy 0.557 (2025)
- Freedom of Expression Index 0.754 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.767 (2025)
- Electoral Democracy Index 0.557 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.366 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.462 (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.