Homicides in El Salvador
El Salvador: Homicides was 2,552 deaths in 2018. ▲ Rising
Latest (2018)
2,552 deaths
Change on year
down 21.6%
World rank
11th
of 113 countries
All-time high
5,461 deaths
in 2015
All-time low
1,455 deaths
in 1990
Years of data
28
1990–2018
Homicides in El Salvador, 1990–2018
Source: WHO Mortality Database (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths.
Analysis
El Salvador recorded 2,552 deaths for homicides in 2018.
The figure is down 21.6% on the previous year and down 9.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in El Salvador peaked at 5,461 deaths in 2015 and was at its lowest, 1,455 deaths, in 1990.
That places El Salvador 11th out of 113 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 28 years of available data.
Homicides in El Salvador, year by year
| Year | deaths | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 1,455 deaths | — |
| 1991 | 1,464 deaths | +0.6% |
| 1992 | 1,913 deaths | +30.7% |
| 1993 | 2,480 deaths | +29.6% |
| 1995 | 2,534 deaths | +2.2% |
| 1996 | 2,535 deaths | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 2,197 deaths | -13.3% |
| 1998 | 2,606 deaths | +18.6% |
| 1999 | 2,300 deaths | -11.7% |
| 2000 | 2,196 deaths | -4.5% |
| 2001 | 2,193 deaths | -0.1% |
| 2002 | 1,957 deaths | -10.8% |
| 2003 | 2,090 deaths | +6.8% |
| 2004 | 2,614 deaths | +25.1% |
| 2005 | 3,278 deaths | +25.4% |
| 2006 | 3,423 deaths | +4.4% |
| 2007 | 3,084 deaths | -9.9% |
| 2008 | 2,807 deaths | -9.0% |
| 2009 | 3,763 deaths | +34.1% |
| 2010 | 3,381 deaths | -10.2% |
| 2011 | 3,605 deaths | +6.6% |
| 2012 | 2,335 deaths | -35.2% |
| 2013 | 2,164 deaths | -7.3% |
| 2014 | 3,344 deaths | +54.5% |
| 2015 | 5,461 deaths | +63.3% |
| 2016 | 4,259 deaths | -22.0% |
| 2017 | 3,256 deaths | -23.6% |
| 2018 | 2,552 deaths | -21.6% |
El Salvador compared with similar countries
- El Salvador's 2,552 deaths is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 135 deaths, 18.9× the median. (43 countries reporting)
- El Salvador's 2,552 deaths is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 438 deaths, 5.8× the median. (31 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 2,165 deaths | 1,455 deaths | 2,606 deaths | 9 |
| 2000s | 2,740 deaths | 1,957 deaths | 3,763 deaths | 10 |
| 2010s | 3,373 deaths | 2,164 deaths | 5,461 deaths | 9 |
Countries ranked near El Salvador
More social development data for El Salvador
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 182 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 68,182 (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 0.0107 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 68,182 (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 El Salvador?
- Homicides in El Salvador was 2,552 deaths in 2018, according to WHO Mortality Database (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest homicides recorded in El Salvador?
- The highest recorded value was 5,461 deaths in 2015.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in El Salvador?
- The lowest recorded value was 1,455 deaths in 1990.
- How does El Salvador rank for homicides?
- El Salvador ranks 11th out of 113 countries with data for 2018.
- Is homicides rising or falling in El Salvador?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this El Salvador 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.
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About this data
Annual number of homicides.