Homicides in Sweden
Sweden: Homicides was 121 homicides in 2023. ▲ Rising
Homicides in Sweden, 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
The most recent figure for homicides in Sweden is 121 homicides, measured in 2023.
The figure is up 4.3% on the previous year and up 39.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in Sweden peaked at 124 homicides in 2020 and was at its lowest, 68 homicides, in 2012.
Sweden ranks 91st of 179 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 99.8 homicides | 87 homicides | 115 homicides | 10 |
| 2000s | 93.6 homicides | 82 homicides | 111 homicides | 10 |
| 2010s | 96.4 homicides | 68 homicides | 113 homicides | 10 |
| 2020s | 118.5 homicides | 113 homicides | 124 homicides | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sweden
More social development data for Sweden
- Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 144,116 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 128 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Key features of democracy 0.889 (2025)
- Freedom of Expression Index 0.946 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.931 (2025)
- Electoral Democracy Index 0.889 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.635 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.853 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is homicides in Sweden?
- Homicides in Sweden was 121 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 Sweden?
- The highest recorded value was 124 homicides in 2020.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in Sweden?
- The lowest recorded value was 68 homicides in 2012.
- How does Sweden rank for homicides?
- Sweden ranks 91st out of 179 countries with data for 2023.
- Is homicides rising or falling in Sweden?
- Over the last ten years it is up 39.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sweden 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 — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of intentional homicides.