Homicides in South Africa
South Africa: Homicides was 27,272 homicides in 2022. ▼ Falling
Homicides in South Africa, 1994–2022
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 South Africa stood at 27,272 homicides. That is the highest value across all 29 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 8.3% on the previous year and up 68.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in South Africa peaked at 27,272 homicides in 2022 and was at its lowest, 15,554 homicides, in 2011.
That places South Africa 4th out of 179 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 29 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 25,088 homicides | 22,604 homicides | 26,877 homicides | 6 |
| 2000s | 19,422 homicides | 16,767 homicides | 21,758 homicides | 10 |
| 2010s | 18,286 homicides | 15,554 homicides | 21,325 homicides | 10 |
| 2020s | 24,142 homicides | 19,972 homicides | 27,272 homicides | 3 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More social development data for South Africa
- Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 55,177 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 1,319 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Key features of democracy 0.743 (2025)
- Freedom of Expression Index 0.837 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.87 (2025)
- Electoral Democracy Index 0.743 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.47 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.633 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is homicides in South Africa?
- Homicides in South Africa was 27,272 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 South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 27,272 homicides in 2022.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 15,554 homicides in 2011.
- How does South Africa rank for homicides?
- South Africa ranks 4th out of 179 countries with data for 2022.
- Is homicides rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 68.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa 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 — 29 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of intentional homicides.