Homicides in New Zealand
New Zealand: Homicides was 75 homicides in 2022. ▲ Rising
Latest (2022)
75 homicides
Change on year
up 27.1%
World rank
101st
of 179 countries
All-time high
114 homicides
in 2019
All-time low
35 homicides
in 2017
Years of data
33
1990–2022
Homicides in New Zealand, 1990–2022
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
In 2022, homicides in New Zealand stood at 75 homicides.
The figure is up 27.1% on the previous year and up 82.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in New Zealand peaked at 114 homicides in 2019 and was at its lowest, 35 homicides, in 2017.
That places New Zealand 101st out of 179 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 33 years of available data.
Homicides in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | homicides | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 63.35 homicides | — |
| 1991 | 53.6 homicides | -15.4% |
| 1992 | 66.6 homicides | +24.2% |
| 1993 | 41.42 homicides | -37.8% |
| 1994 | 56.85 homicides | +37.3% |
| 1995 | 39 homicides | -31.4% |
| 1996 | 48 homicides | +23.1% |
| 1997 | 60 homicides | +25.0% |
| 1998 | 49 homicides | -18.3% |
| 1999 | 45 homicides | -8.2% |
| 2000 | 52 homicides | +15.6% |
| 2001 | 51 homicides | -1.9% |
| 2002 | 60 homicides | +17.6% |
| 2003 | 44 homicides | -26.7% |
| 2004 | 45 homicides | +2.3% |
| 2005 | 61 homicides | +35.6% |
| 2006 | 49 homicides | -19.7% |
| 2007 | 48 homicides | -2.0% |
| 2008 | 51 homicides | +6.2% |
| 2009 | 67 homicides | +31.4% |
| 2010 | 43 homicides | -35.8% |
| 2011 | 39 homicides | -9.3% |
| 2012 | 41 homicides | +5.1% |
| 2013 | 46 homicides | +12.2% |
| 2014 | 43 homicides | -6.5% |
| 2015 | 48 homicides | +11.6% |
| 2016 | 50 homicides | +4.2% |
| 2017 | 35 homicides | -30.0% |
| 2018 | 55 homicides | +57.1% |
| 2019 | 114 homicides | +107.3% |
| 2020 | 52 homicides | -54.4% |
| 2021 | 59 homicides | +13.5% |
| 2022 | 75 homicides | +27.1% |
New Zealand compared with similar countries
- New Zealand's 75 homicides is above the median for high income countries, which is 52.5 homicides, 1.4× the median. (76 countries reporting)
- New Zealand's 75 homicides is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 75 homicides, 1.0× the median. (27 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 52.28 homicides | 39 homicides | 66.6 homicides | 10 |
| 2000s | 52.8 homicides | 44 homicides | 67 homicides | 10 |
| 2010s | 51.4 homicides | 35 homicides | 114 homicides | 10 |
| 2020s | 62 homicides | 52 homicides | 75 homicides | 3 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
More social development data for New Zealand
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 2,148 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 58 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 1 (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 58 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0004 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 New Zealand?
- Homicides in New Zealand was 75 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 New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 114 homicides in 2019.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 35 homicides in 2017.
- How does New Zealand rank for homicides?
- New Zealand ranks 101st out of 179 countries with data for 2022.
- Is homicides rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 82.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this New Zealand 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 — 33 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of intentional homicides.