Homicides in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico: Homicides was 585 deaths in 2022. ▲ Rising
Latest (2022)
585 deaths
Change on year
down 3.0%
World rank
21st
of 113 countries
All-time high
1,070 deaths
in 2011
All-time low
148 deaths
in 1963
Years of data
56
1961–2022
Homicides in Puerto Rico, 1961–2022
Source: WHO Mortality Database (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths.
Analysis
In 2022, homicides in Puerto Rico stood at 585 deaths.
The figure is down 3.0% on the previous year and down 38.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in Puerto Rico peaked at 1,070 deaths in 2011 and was at its lowest, 148 deaths, in 1963.
Puerto Rico ranks 21st of 113 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 56 years of available data.
Homicides in Puerto Rico, year by year
| Year | deaths | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 181 deaths | — |
| 1962 | 207 deaths | +14.4% |
| 1963 | 148 deaths | -28.5% |
| 1964 | 211 deaths | +42.6% |
| 1965 | 193 deaths | -8.5% |
| 1966 | 202 deaths | +4.7% |
| 1969 | 218 deaths | +7.9% |
| 1970 | 236 deaths | +8.3% |
| 1971 | 345 deaths | +46.2% |
| 1972 | 351 deaths | +1.7% |
| 1973 | 428 deaths | +21.9% |
| 1974 | 536 deaths | +25.2% |
| 1975 | 503 deaths | -6.2% |
| 1976 | 446 deaths | -11.3% |
| 1977 | 484 deaths | +8.5% |
| 1979 | 484 deaths | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 483 deaths | -0.2% |
| 1981 | 542 deaths | +12.2% |
| 1982 | 517 deaths | -4.6% |
| 1983 | 433 deaths | -16.2% |
| 1984 | 479 deaths | +10.6% |
| 1985 | 579 deaths | +20.9% |
| 1986 | 723 deaths | +24.9% |
| 1987 | 505 deaths | -30.2% |
| 1988 | 576 deaths | +14.1% |
| 1989 | 467 deaths | -18.9% |
| 1990 | 583 deaths | +24.8% |
| 1991 | 803 deaths | +37.7% |
| 1992 | 851 deaths | +6.0% |
| 1993 | 959 deaths | +12.7% |
| 1994 | 1,017 deaths | +6.0% |
| 1995 | 929 deaths | -8.7% |
| 1996 | 928 deaths | -0.1% |
| 1997 | 877 deaths | -5.5% |
| 1998 | 804 deaths | -8.3% |
| 1999 | 664 deaths | -17.4% |
| 2000 | 677 deaths | +2.0% |
| 2001 | 760 deaths | +12.3% |
| 2002 | 733 deaths | -3.6% |
| 2003 | 741 deaths | +1.1% |
| 2004 | 730 deaths | -1.5% |
| 2005 | 765 deaths | +4.8% |
| 2006 | 724 deaths | -5.4% |
| 2007 | 720 deaths | -0.6% |
| 2008 | 813 deaths | +12.9% |
| 2009 | 927 deaths | +14.0% |
| 2010 | 958 deaths | +3.3% |
| 2011 | 1,070 deaths | +11.7% |
| 2012 | 954 deaths | -10.8% |
| 2013 | 865 deaths | -9.3% |
| 2014 | 680 deaths | -21.4% |
| 2015 | 587 deaths | -13.7% |
| 2016 | 680 deaths | +15.8% |
| 2017 | 684 deaths | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 603 deaths | -11.8% |
| 2022 | 585 deaths | -3.0% |
Puerto Rico compared with similar countries
- Puerto Rico's 585 deaths is above the median for high income countries, which is 63 deaths, 9.3× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Puerto Rico's 585 deaths is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 438 deaths, 1.3× the median. (31 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 194.29 deaths | 148 deaths | 218 deaths | 7 |
| 1970s | 423.67 deaths | 236 deaths | 536 deaths | 9 |
| 1980s | 530.4 deaths | 433 deaths | 723 deaths | 10 |
| 1990s | 841.5 deaths | 583 deaths | 1,017 deaths | 10 |
| 2000s | 759 deaths | 677 deaths | 927 deaths | 10 |
| 2010s | 809.75 deaths | 587 deaths | 1,070 deaths | 8 |
| 2020s | 594 deaths | 585 deaths | 603 deaths | 2 |
Countries ranked near Puerto Rico
More social development data for Puerto Rico
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 (2024)
- Political Rights Rating 1 (2015)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2015)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 1 (2015)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per person (2024)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 (2024)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Political rights rating fh, per square kilometre 0.0001 units per square kilometre (2015)
- Political Rights Score 37 (2015)
- Freedom Score 90 (2015)
Frequently asked questions
- What is homicides in Puerto Rico?
- Homicides in Puerto Rico was 585 deaths in 2022, according to WHO Mortality Database (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest homicides recorded in Puerto Rico?
- The highest recorded value was 1,070 deaths in 2011.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in Puerto Rico?
- The lowest recorded value was 148 deaths in 1963.
- How does Puerto Rico rank for homicides?
- Puerto Rico ranks 21st out of 113 countries with data for 2022.
- Is homicides rising or falling in Puerto Rico?
- Over the last ten years it is down 38.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Puerto Rico 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.