Homicides in Tanzania
Tanzania: Homicides was 2,286 homicides in 2020. ▲ Rising
Homicides in Tanzania, 1995–2020
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
Tanzania recorded 2,286 homicides for homicides in 2020.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 15.9% on the previous year and down 41.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in Tanzania peaked at 4,149 homicides in 2011 and was at its lowest, 2,110 homicides, in 1995.
That places Tanzania 23rd out of 179 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
Homicides in Tanzania, year by year
| Year | homicides | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 2,110 homicides | — |
| 1996 | 2,283 homicides | +8.2% |
| 1997 | 2,355 homicides | +3.2% |
| 2003 | 2,778 homicides | +18.0% |
| 2004 | 2,926 homicides | +5.3% |
| 2010 | 3,888 homicides | +32.9% |
| 2011 | 4,149 homicides | +6.7% |
| 2012 | 4,092 homicides | -1.4% |
| 2013 | 3,697 homicides | -9.7% |
| 2015 | 3,746 homicides | +1.3% |
| 2016 | 3,439 homicides | -8.2% |
| 2017 | 3,147 homicides | -8.5% |
| 2018 | 2,734 homicides | -13.1% |
| 2019 | 2,719 homicides | -0.5% |
| 2020 | 2,286 homicides | -15.9% |
Tanzania compared with similar countries
- Tanzania's 2,286 homicides is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 635 homicides, 3.6× the median. (33 countries reporting)
- Tanzania's 2,286 homicides is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 539.5 homicides, 4.2× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 2,249 homicides | 2,110 homicides | 2,355 homicides | 3 |
| 2000s | 2,852 homicides | 2,778 homicides | 2,926 homicides | 2 |
| 2010s | 3,512 homicides | 2,719 homicides | 4,149 homicides | 9 |
| 2020s | 2,286 homicides | 2,286 homicides | 2,286 homicides | 1 |
Countries ranked near Tanzania
More social development data for Tanzania
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 171,142 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1,592 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 6 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 6 (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 1,592 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0024 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 Tanzania?
- Homicides in Tanzania was 2,286 homicides in 2020, 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 Tanzania?
- The highest recorded value was 4,149 homicides in 2011.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in Tanzania?
- The lowest recorded value was 2,110 homicides in 1995.
- How does Tanzania rank for homicides?
- Tanzania ranks 23rd out of 179 countries with data for 2020.
- Is homicides rising or falling in Tanzania?
- Over the last ten years it is down 41.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Tanzania 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 — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of intentional homicides.