Homicides in Brazil
Brazil: Homicides was 45,596 deaths in 2021. ▲ Rising
Latest (2021)
45,596 deaths
Change on year
down 4.5%
World rank
1st
of 113 countries
All-time high
63,788 deaths
in 2017
All-time low
11,180 deaths
in 1979
Years of data
43
1979–2021
Homicides in Brazil, 1979–2021
Source: WHO Mortality Database (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths.
Analysis
In 2021, homicides in Brazil stood at 45,596 deaths.
The figure is down 4.5% on the previous year and down 12.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in Brazil peaked at 63,788 deaths in 2017 and was at its lowest, 11,180 deaths, in 1979.
Brazil ranks 1st of 113 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 43 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 11,180 deaths | 11,180 deaths | 11,180 deaths | 1 |
| 1980s | 19,708 deaths | 13,887 deaths | 28,726 deaths | 10 |
| 1990s | 35,540 deaths | 28,316 deaths | 42,923 deaths | 10 |
| 2000s | 48,778 deaths | 45,358 deaths | 51,461 deaths | 10 |
| 2010s | 56,072 deaths | 44,073 deaths | 63,788 deaths | 10 |
| 2020s | 46,659 deaths | 45,596 deaths | 47,722 deaths | 2 |
Countries ranked near Brazil
More social development data for Brazil
- Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 278,966 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 6,306 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Key features of democracy 0.784 (2025)
- Freedom of Expression Index 0.91 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.882 (2025)
- Electoral Democracy Index 0.784 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.528 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.704 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is homicides in Brazil?
- Homicides in Brazil was 45,596 deaths in 2021, according to WHO Mortality Database (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest homicides recorded in Brazil?
- The highest recorded value was 63,788 deaths in 2017.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in Brazil?
- The lowest recorded value was 11,180 deaths in 1979.
- How does Brazil rank for homicides?
- Brazil ranks 1st out of 113 countries with data for 2021.
- Is homicides rising or falling in Brazil?
- Over the last ten years it is down 12.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Brazil data come from?
- The figures come from WHO Mortality Database (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 — 43 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Annual number of homicides.