Homicides in Turkey
Turkey: Homicides was 2,817 homicides in 2023. ▼ Falling
Homicides in Turkey, 2003–2023
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
In 2023, homicides in Turkey stood at 2,817 homicides.
The figure is up 23.4% on the previous year and down 12.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in Turkey peaked at 3,599 homicides in 2007 and was at its lowest, 2,045 homicides, in 2019.
That places Turkey 21st out of 179 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 18 years of available data.
Homicides in Turkey, year by year
| Year | homicides | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 2,837 homicides | — |
| 2004 | 2,914 homicides | +2.7% |
| 2005 | 3,305 homicides | +13.4% |
| 2006 | 3,168 homicides | -4.1% |
| 2007 | 3,599 homicides | +13.6% |
| 2008 | 3,257 homicides | -9.5% |
| 2010 | 3,064 homicides | -5.9% |
| 2011 | 3,061 homicides | -0.1% |
| 2012 | 3,216 homicides | +5.1% |
| 2015 | 2,235 homicides | -30.5% |
| 2016 | 2,704 homicides | +21.0% |
| 2017 | 2,541 homicides | -6.0% |
| 2018 | 2,161 homicides | -15.0% |
| 2019 | 2,045 homicides | -5.4% |
| 2020 | 2,144 homicides | +4.8% |
| 2021 | 2,165 homicides | +1.0% |
| 2022 | 2,282 homicides | +5.4% |
| 2023 | 2,817 homicides | +23.4% |
Turkey compared with similar countries
- Turkey's 2,817 homicides is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 241.5 homicides, 11.7× the median. (52 countries reporting)
- Turkey's 2,817 homicides is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 74.5 homicides, 37.8× the median. (52 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 3,180 homicides | 2,837 homicides | 3,599 homicides | 6 |
| 2010s | 2,628 homicides | 2,045 homicides | 3,216 homicides | 8 |
| 2020s | 2,352 homicides | 2,144 homicides | 2,817 homicides | 4 |
Countries ranked near Turkey
More social development data for Turkey
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 2.39 million (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 149,405 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 5 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 5 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0017 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 149,405 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0278 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 Turkey?
- Homicides in Turkey was 2,817 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 Turkey?
- The highest recorded value was 3,599 homicides in 2007.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in Turkey?
- The lowest recorded value was 2,045 homicides in 2019.
- How does Turkey rank for homicides?
- Turkey ranks 21st out of 179 countries with data for 2023.
- Is homicides rising or falling in Turkey?
- Over the last ten years it is down 12.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Turkey 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 — 18 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of intentional homicides.