Homicides in Spain
Spain: Homicides was 331 homicides in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
331 homicides
Change on year
up 1.8%
World rank
67th
of 179 countries
All-time high
587 homicides
in 2003
All-time low
289 homicides
in 2018
Years of data
34
1990–2023
Homicides in Spain, 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
Spain recorded 331 homicides for homicides in 2023.
That represents a change of up 1.8% on the previous year and up 9.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in Spain peaked at 587 homicides in 2003 and was at its lowest, 289 homicides, in 2018.
That places Spain 67th 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 34 years of available data.
Homicides in Spain, year by year
| Year | homicides | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 483.96 homicides | — |
| 1991 | 439.5 homicides | -9.2% |
| 1992 | 440.77 homicides | +0.3% |
| 1993 | 473.8 homicides | +7.5% |
| 1994 | 429 homicides | -9.5% |
| 1995 | 411 homicides | -4.2% |
| 1996 | 397 homicides | -3.4% |
| 1997 | 463 homicides | +16.6% |
| 1998 | 522 homicides | +12.7% |
| 1999 | 486 homicides | -6.9% |
| 2000 | 553 homicides | +13.8% |
| 2001 | 577 homicides | +4.3% |
| 2002 | 564 homicides | -2.3% |
| 2003 | 587 homicides | +4.1% |
| 2004 | 520 homicides | -11.4% |
| 2005 | 518 homicides | -0.4% |
| 2006 | 476 homicides | -8.1% |
| 2007 | 482 homicides | +1.3% |
| 2008 | 407 homicides | -15.6% |
| 2009 | 412 homicides | +1.2% |
| 2010 | 401 homicides | -2.7% |
| 2011 | 385 homicides | -4.0% |
| 2012 | 364 homicides | -5.5% |
| 2013 | 302 homicides | -17.0% |
| 2014 | 323 homicides | +7.0% |
| 2015 | 302 homicides | -6.5% |
| 2016 | 294 homicides | -2.6% |
| 2017 | 307 homicides | +4.4% |
| 2018 | 289 homicides | -5.9% |
| 2019 | 331 homicides | +14.5% |
| 2020 | 331 homicides | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 290 homicides | -12.4% |
| 2022 | 325 homicides | +12.1% |
| 2023 | 331 homicides | +1.8% |
Spain compared with similar countries
- Spain's 331 homicides is above the median for high income countries, which is 52.5 homicides, 6.3× the median. (76 countries reporting)
- Spain's 331 homicides is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 74.5 homicides, 4.4× the median. (52 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 454.6 homicides | 397 homicides | 522 homicides | 10 |
| 2000s | 509.6 homicides | 407 homicides | 587 homicides | 10 |
| 2010s | 329.8 homicides | 289 homicides | 401 homicides | 10 |
| 2020s | 319.25 homicides | 290 homicides | 331 homicides | 4 |
Countries ranked near Spain
More social development data for Spain
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 511,079 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 186 (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 186 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0104 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 Spain?
- Homicides in Spain was 331 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 Spain?
- The highest recorded value was 587 homicides in 2003.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in Spain?
- The lowest recorded value was 289 homicides in 2018.
- How does Spain rank for homicides?
- Spain ranks 67th out of 179 countries with data for 2023.
- Is homicides rising or falling in Spain?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Spain 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.
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About this data
Number of intentional homicides.