Homicides in Ecuador
Ecuador: Homicides was 4,451 deaths in 2022. ◆ Volatile
Homicides in Ecuador, 1966–2022
Source: WHO Mortality Database (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths.
Analysis
In 2022, homicides in Ecuador stood at 4,451 deaths. That is the highest value across all 56 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 234.2% on the previous year and up 160.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in Ecuador peaked at 4,451 deaths in 2022 and was at its lowest, 325 deaths, in 1968.
That places Ecuador 9th out of 113 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Homicides in Ecuador, year by year
| Year | deaths | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1966 | 354 deaths | — |
| 1967 | 425 deaths | +20.1% |
| 1968 | 325 deaths | -23.5% |
| 1969 | 422 deaths | +29.8% |
| 1970 | 490 deaths | +16.1% |
| 1971 | 454 deaths | -7.3% |
| 1972 | 441 deaths | -2.9% |
| 1973 | 408 deaths | -7.5% |
| 1974 | 489 deaths | +19.9% |
| 1975 | 487 deaths | -0.4% |
| 1977 | 525 deaths | +7.8% |
| 1978 | 479 deaths | -8.8% |
| 1979 | 432 deaths | -9.8% |
| 1980 | 504 deaths | +16.7% |
| 1981 | 653 deaths | +29.6% |
| 1982 | 691 deaths | +5.8% |
| 1983 | 750 deaths | +8.5% |
| 1984 | 828 deaths | +10.4% |
| 1985 | 819 deaths | -1.1% |
| 1986 | 957 deaths | +16.8% |
| 1987 | 1,002 deaths | +4.7% |
| 1988 | 1,027 deaths | +2.5% |
| 1989 | 1,122 deaths | +9.3% |
| 1990 | 1,060 deaths | -5.5% |
| 1991 | 1,198 deaths | +13.0% |
| 1992 | 1,306 deaths | +9.0% |
| 1993 | 1,444 deaths | +10.6% |
| 1994 | 1,280 deaths | -11.4% |
| 1995 | 1,531 deaths | +19.6% |
| 1996 | 1,632 deaths | +6.6% |
| 1997 | 1,469 deaths | -10.0% |
| 1998 | 1,833 deaths | +24.8% |
| 1999 | 1,829 deaths | -0.2% |
| 2000 | 2,078 deaths | +13.6% |
| 2001 | 1,980 deaths | -4.7% |
| 2002 | 2,056 deaths | +3.8% |
| 2003 | 1,763 deaths | -14.3% |
| 2004 | 2,314 deaths | +31.3% |
| 2005 | 2,407 deaths | +4.0% |
| 2006 | 2,348 deaths | -2.5% |
| 2007 | 2,298 deaths | -2.1% |
| 2008 | 2,468 deaths | +7.4% |
| 2009 | 2,178 deaths | -11.8% |
| 2010 | 2,322 deaths | +6.6% |
| 2011 | 2,107 deaths | -9.3% |
| 2012 | 1,706 deaths | -19.0% |
| 2013 | 1,271 deaths | -25.5% |
| 2014 | 1,045 deaths | -17.8% |
| 2015 | 981 deaths | -6.1% |
| 2016 | 919 deaths | -6.3% |
| 2017 | 935 deaths | +1.7% |
| 2018 | 997 deaths | +6.6% |
| 2019 | 1,215 deaths | +21.9% |
| 2020 | 1,050 deaths | -13.6% |
| 2021 | 1,332 deaths | +26.9% |
| 2022 | 4,451 deaths | +234.2% |
Ecuador compared with similar countries
- Ecuador's 4,451 deaths is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 135 deaths, 33.0× the median. (43 countries reporting)
- Ecuador's 4,451 deaths is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 438 deaths, 10.2× the median. (31 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Homicides in Ecuador 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | +234.2% | 1,332 deaths | 4,451 deaths |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 381.5 deaths | 325 deaths | 425 deaths | 4 |
| 1970s | 467.22 deaths | 408 deaths | 525 deaths | 9 |
| 1980s | 835.3 deaths | 504 deaths | 1,122 deaths | 10 |
| 1990s | 1,458 deaths | 1,060 deaths | 1,833 deaths | 10 |
| 2000s | 2,189 deaths | 1,763 deaths | 2,468 deaths | 10 |
| 2010s | 1,350 deaths | 919 deaths | 2,322 deaths | 10 |
| 2020s | 2,278 deaths | 1,050 deaths | 4,451 deaths | 3 |
Countries ranked near Ecuador
- 6 Philippines 8,831 deaths compare
- 7 Russia 7,302 deaths compare
- 8 South Africa 5,668 deaths compare
- 10 Guatemala 2,804 deaths compare
- 11 El Salvador 2,552 deaths compare
- 12 Iran 1,955 deaths compare
More social development data for Ecuador
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 26,428 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 5,723 (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 0.0003 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 5,723 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0014 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 Ecuador?
- Homicides in Ecuador was 4,451 deaths in 2022, according to WHO Mortality Database (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest homicides recorded in Ecuador?
- The highest recorded value was 4,451 deaths in 2022.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in Ecuador?
- The lowest recorded value was 325 deaths in 1968.
- How does Ecuador rank for homicides?
- Ecuador ranks 9th out of 113 countries with data for 2022.
- Is homicides rising or falling in Ecuador?
- Over the last ten years it is up 160.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Ecuador 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 — 56 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Annual number of homicides.