Homicides in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Homicides was 623 deaths in 2022. ◆ Volatile
Homicides in Costa Rica, 1961–2022
Source: WHO Mortality Database (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths.
Analysis
Costa Rica recorded 623 deaths for homicides in 2022. That is the highest value across all 62 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 9.9% on the previous year and up 72.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in Costa Rica peaked at 623 deaths in 2022 and was at its lowest, 37 deaths, in 1961.
Costa Rica ranks 20th of 113 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 45.67 deaths | 37 deaths | 61 deaths | 9 |
| 1970s | 78 deaths | 60 deaths | 112 deaths | 10 |
| 1980s | 115.5 deaths | 94 deaths | 131 deaths | 10 |
| 1990s | 180.4 deaths | 128 deaths | 236 deaths | 10 |
| 2000s | 296.7 deaths | 236 deaths | 411 deaths | 10 |
| 2010s | 480.5 deaths | 362 deaths | 570 deaths | 10 |
| 2020s | 568 deaths | 514 deaths | 623 deaths | 3 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More social development data for Costa Rica
- Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 36,395 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 367 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Key features of democracy 0.862 (2025)
- Freedom of Expression Index 0.915 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.922 (2025)
- Electoral Democracy Index 0.862 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.606 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.809 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is homicides in Costa Rica?
- Homicides in Costa Rica was 623 deaths in 2022, according to WHO Mortality Database (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest homicides recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 623 deaths in 2022.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 37 deaths in 1961.
- How does Costa Rica rank for homicides?
- Costa Rica ranks 20th out of 113 countries with data for 2022.
- Is homicides rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 72.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Costa Rica 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 — 62 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Annual number of homicides.