Homicides in Norway
Norway: Homicides was 40 homicides in 2023. ▼ Falling
Homicides in Norway, 1990–2023
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
Norway recorded 40 homicides for homicides in 2023.
The figure is up 33.3% on the previous year and down 13.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in Norway peaked at 111 homicides in 2011 and was at its lowest, 24 homicides, in 2015.
That places Norway 120th out of 179 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 33 years of available data.
Homicides in Norway, year by year
| Year | homicides | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 47 homicides | — |
| 1991 | 50 homicides | +6.4% |
| 1992 | 46 homicides | -8.0% |
| 1993 | 38 homicides | -17.4% |
| 1994 | 33 homicides | -13.2% |
| 1995 | 42 homicides | +27.3% |
| 1996 | 43 homicides | +2.4% |
| 1997 | 38 homicides | -11.6% |
| 1998 | 38 homicides | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 33 homicides | -13.2% |
| 2000 | 48 homicides | +45.5% |
| 2001 | 37 homicides | -22.9% |
| 2002 | 46 homicides | +24.3% |
| 2004 | 36 homicides | -21.7% |
| 2005 | 33 homicides | -8.3% |
| 2006 | 33 homicides | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 30 homicides | -9.1% |
| 2008 | 34 homicides | +13.3% |
| 2009 | 29 homicides | -14.7% |
| 2010 | 29 homicides | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 111 homicides | +282.8% |
| 2012 | 27 homicides | -75.7% |
| 2013 | 46 homicides | +70.4% |
| 2014 | 29 homicides | -37.0% |
| 2015 | 24 homicides | -17.2% |
| 2016 | 27 homicides | +12.5% |
| 2017 | 28 homicides | +3.7% |
| 2018 | 25 homicides | -10.7% |
| 2019 | 28 homicides | +12.0% |
| 2020 | 31 homicides | +10.7% |
| 2021 | 29 homicides | -6.5% |
| 2022 | 30 homicides | +3.4% |
| 2023 | 40 homicides | +33.3% |
Norway compared with similar countries
- Norway's 40 homicides is below the median for high income countries, which is 52.5 homicides, 76% of the median. (76 countries reporting)
- Norway's 40 homicides is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 74.5 homicides, 54% of the median. (52 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Homicides in Norway 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | +282.8% | 29 homicides | 111 homicides |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 40.8 homicides | 33 homicides | 50 homicides | 10 |
| 2000s | 36.22 homicides | 29 homicides | 48 homicides | 9 |
| 2010s | 37.4 homicides | 24 homicides | 111 homicides | 10 |
| 2020s | 32.5 homicides | 29 homicides | 40 homicides | 4 |
Countries ranked near Norway
- 118 Latvia 47 homicides compare
- 119 Suriname 41 homicides compare
- 121 Bosnia and Herzegovina 39 homicides compare
- 122 French Guiana 38.7 homicides compare
- 123 Cape Verde 36 homicides compare
More social development data for Norway
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 124,006 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 20 (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 20 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0221 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 Norway?
- Homicides in Norway was 40 homicides in 2023, 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 Norway?
- The highest recorded value was 111 homicides in 2011.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in Norway?
- The lowest recorded value was 24 homicides in 2015.
- How does Norway rank for homicides?
- Norway ranks 120th out of 179 countries with data for 2023.
- Is homicides rising or falling in Norway?
- Over the last ten years it is down 13.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Norway 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.