Homicides in South Africa
South Africa: Homicides was 5,668 deaths in 2020. ▲ Rising
Homicides in South Africa, 1996–2020
Source: WHO Mortality Database (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths.
Analysis
In 2020, homicides in South Africa stood at 5,668 deaths.
That represents a change of down 25.4% on the previous year and up 12.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in South Africa peaked at 8,037 deaths in 2016 and was at its lowest, 227 deaths, in 1996.
That places South Africa 8th out of 113 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Homicides in South Africa, year by year
| Year | deaths | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 227 deaths | — |
| 1997 | 1,351 deaths | +495.2% |
| 1998 | 1,355 deaths | +0.3% |
| 1999 | 2,922 deaths | +115.6% |
| 2000 | 2,119 deaths | -27.5% |
| 2001 | 3,773 deaths | +78.1% |
| 2002 | 2,171 deaths | -42.5% |
| 2003 | 2,572 deaths | +18.5% |
| 2004 | 4,223 deaths | +64.2% |
| 2005 | 4,951 deaths | +17.2% |
| 2006 | 5,375 deaths | +8.6% |
| 2007 | 5,648 deaths | +5.1% |
| 2008 | 5,467 deaths | -3.2% |
| 2009 | 5,089 deaths | -6.9% |
| 2010 | 5,059 deaths | -0.6% |
| 2011 | 4,989 deaths | -1.4% |
| 2012 | 4,928 deaths | -1.2% |
| 2013 | 5,019 deaths | +1.8% |
| 2014 | 5,314 deaths | +5.9% |
| 2015 | 7,201 deaths | +35.5% |
| 2016 | 8,037 deaths | +11.6% |
| 2017 | 8,018 deaths | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 7,539 deaths | -6.0% |
| 2019 | 7,596 deaths | +0.8% |
| 2020 | 5,668 deaths | -25.4% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 5,668 deaths is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 135 deaths, 42.0× the median. (43 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Homicides in South Africa 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | +495.2% | 227 deaths | 1,351 deaths |
| 1999 | +115.6% | 1,355 deaths | 2,922 deaths |
| 2001 | +78.1% | 2,119 deaths | 3,773 deaths |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1,464 deaths | 227 deaths | 2,922 deaths | 4 |
| 2000s | 4,139 deaths | 2,119 deaths | 5,648 deaths | 10 |
| 2010s | 6,370 deaths | 4,928 deaths | 8,037 deaths | 10 |
| 2020s | 5,668 deaths | 5,668 deaths | 5,668 deaths | 1 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More social development data for South Africa
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 55,177 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 1,319 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 2 (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 1,319 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0009 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 South Africa?
- Homicides in South Africa was 5,668 deaths in 2020, according to WHO Mortality Database (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest homicides recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 8,037 deaths in 2016.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 227 deaths in 1996.
- How does South Africa rank for homicides?
- South Africa ranks 8th out of 113 countries with data for 2020.
- Is homicides rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa 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 — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Annual number of homicides.