Homicides in Peru
Peru: Homicides was 2,853 homicides in 2021. ▲ Rising
Homicides in Peru, 2011–2021
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 Peru is 2,853 homicides, measured in 2021. That is the highest value across all 11 years on record.
The figure is up 49.9% on the previous year and up 76.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in Peru peaked at 2,853 homicides in 2021 and was at its lowest, 1,617 homicides, in 2011.
That places Peru 20th out of 179 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 11 years of available data.
Homicides in Peru, year by year
| Year | homicides | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 1,617 homicides | — |
| 2012 | 1,968 homicides | +21.7% |
| 2013 | 2,013 homicides | +2.3% |
| 2014 | 2,076 homicides | +3.1% |
| 2015 | 2,247 homicides | +8.2% |
| 2016 | 2,435 homicides | +8.4% |
| 2017 | 2,487 homicides | +2.1% |
| 2018 | 2,452 homicides | -1.4% |
| 2019 | 2,385 homicides | -2.7% |
| 2020 | 1,903 homicides | -20.2% |
| 2021 | 2,853 homicides | +49.9% |
Peru compared with similar countries
- Peru's 2,853 homicides is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 241.5 homicides, 11.8× the median. (52 countries reporting)
- Peru's 2,853 homicides is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 489 homicides, 5.8× the median. (41 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 2,187 homicides | 1,617 homicides | 2,487 homicides | 9 |
| 2020s | 2,378 homicides | 1,903 homicides | 2,853 homicides | 2 |
Countries ranked near Peru
More social development data for Peru
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 6,788 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 7,885 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 3 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 3 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0002 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 7,885 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0002 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 Peru?
- Homicides in Peru was 2,853 homicides in 2021, 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 Peru?
- The highest recorded value was 2,853 homicides in 2021.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in Peru?
- The lowest recorded value was 1,617 homicides in 2011.
- How does Peru rank for homicides?
- Peru ranks 20th out of 179 countries with data for 2021.
- Is homicides rising or falling in Peru?
- Over the last ten years it is up 76.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Peru 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 — 11 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of intentional homicides.