Homicides in Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic: Homicides was 1,496 deaths in 2018. ◆ Volatile
Homicides in Dominican Republic, 1965–2018
Source: WHO Mortality Database (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths.
Analysis
Dominican Republic recorded 1,496 deaths for homicides in 2018.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 17.2% on the previous year and up 145.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in Dominican Republic peaked at 2,055 deaths in 2013 and was at its lowest, 125 deaths, in 1969.
Dominican Republic ranks 13th 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.
Homicides in Dominican Republic, year by year
| Year | deaths | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1965 | 186 deaths | — |
| 1966 | 215 deaths | +15.6% |
| 1967 | 214 deaths | -0.5% |
| 1968 | 205 deaths | -4.2% |
| 1969 | 125 deaths | -39.0% |
| 1970 | 381 deaths | +204.8% |
| 1971 | 288 deaths | -24.4% |
| 1972 | 192 deaths | -33.3% |
| 1973 | 230 deaths | +19.8% |
| 1974 | 226 deaths | -1.7% |
| 1975 | 219 deaths | -3.1% |
| 1976 | 220 deaths | +0.5% |
| 1977 | 213 deaths | -3.2% |
| 1978 | 238 deaths | +11.7% |
| 1979 | 229 deaths | -3.8% |
| 1980 | 187 deaths | -18.3% |
| 1981 | 239 deaths | +27.8% |
| 1982 | 257 deaths | +7.5% |
| 1983 | 299 deaths | +16.3% |
| 1984 | 265 deaths | -11.4% |
| 1985 | 310 deaths | +17.0% |
| 1986 | 367 deaths | +18.4% |
| 1987 | 439 deaths | +19.6% |
| 1988 | 439 deaths | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 496 deaths | +13.0% |
| 1990 | 516 deaths | +4.0% |
| 1991 | 480 deaths | -7.0% |
| 1992 | 371 deaths | -22.7% |
| 1994 | 365 deaths | -1.6% |
| 1995 | 360 deaths | -1.4% |
| 1996 | 392 deaths | +8.9% |
| 1997 | 529 deaths | +34.9% |
| 1998 | 634 deaths | +19.8% |
| 1999 | 625 deaths | -1.4% |
| 2000 | 490 deaths | -21.6% |
| 2001 | 393 deaths | -19.8% |
| 2002 | 347 deaths | -11.7% |
| 2003 | 333 deaths | -4.0% |
| 2004 | 498 deaths | +49.5% |
| 2005 | 701 deaths | +40.8% |
| 2006 | 573 deaths | -18.3% |
| 2007 | 512 deaths | -10.6% |
| 2008 | 609 deaths | +18.9% |
| 2009 | 761 deaths | +25.0% |
| 2010 | 911 deaths | +19.7% |
| 2011 | 929 deaths | +2.0% |
| 2012 | 1,258 deaths | +35.4% |
| 2013 | 2,055 deaths | +63.4% |
| 2014 | 2,000 deaths | -2.7% |
| 2015 | 2,014 deaths | +0.7% |
| 2016 | 1,870 deaths | -7.1% |
| 2017 | 1,807 deaths | -3.4% |
| 2018 | 1,496 deaths | -17.2% |
Dominican Republic compared with similar countries
- Dominican Republic's 1,496 deaths is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 135 deaths, 11.1× the median. (43 countries reporting)
- Dominican Republic's 1,496 deaths is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 438 deaths, 3.4× the median. (31 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Homicides in Dominican Republic changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | +204.8% | 125 deaths | 381 deaths |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 189 deaths | 125 deaths | 215 deaths | 5 |
| 1970s | 243.6 deaths | 192 deaths | 381 deaths | 10 |
| 1980s | 329.8 deaths | 187 deaths | 496 deaths | 10 |
| 1990s | 474.67 deaths | 360 deaths | 634 deaths | 9 |
| 2000s | 521.7 deaths | 333 deaths | 761 deaths | 10 |
| 2010s | 1,593 deaths | 911 deaths | 2,055 deaths | 9 |
Countries ranked near Dominican Republic
More social development data for Dominican Republic
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 20 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1,240 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 3 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 3 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0001 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1,240 (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 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is homicides in Dominican Republic?
- Homicides in Dominican Republic was 1,496 deaths in 2018, according to WHO Mortality Database (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest homicides recorded in Dominican Republic?
- The highest recorded value was 2,055 deaths in 2013.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in Dominican Republic?
- The lowest recorded value was 125 deaths in 1969.
- How does Dominican Republic rank for homicides?
- Dominican Republic ranks 13th out of 113 countries with data for 2018.
- Is homicides rising or falling in Dominican Republic?
- Over the last ten years it is up 145.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Dominican Republic 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 — 53 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Annual number of homicides.