Homicides in Sweden
Sweden: Homicides was 114 deaths in 2023. ▲ Rising
Homicides in Sweden, 1951–2023
Source: WHO Mortality Database (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths.
Analysis
The most recent figure for homicides in Sweden is 114 deaths, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of down 1.7% on the previous year and up 42.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in Sweden peaked at 128 deaths in 2020 and was at its lowest, 39 deaths, in 1961.
Sweden ranks 48th of 113 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 73 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 51.56 deaths | 43 deaths | 65 deaths | 9 |
| 1960s | 56.4 deaths | 39 deaths | 71 deaths | 10 |
| 1970s | 90.2 deaths | 67 deaths | 112 deaths | 10 |
| 1980s | 107.7 deaths | 92 deaths | 127 deaths | 10 |
| 1990s | 106.7 deaths | 85 deaths | 125 deaths | 10 |
| 2000s | 89.1 deaths | 71 deaths | 108 deaths | 10 |
| 2010s | 88.3 deaths | 62 deaths | 108 deaths | 10 |
| 2020s | 113.75 deaths | 97 deaths | 128 deaths | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sweden
More social development data for Sweden
- Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 144,116 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 128 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Key features of democracy 0.889 (2025)
- Freedom of Expression Index 0.946 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.931 (2025)
- Electoral Democracy Index 0.889 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.635 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.853 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is homicides in Sweden?
- Homicides in Sweden was 114 deaths in 2023, according to WHO Mortality Database (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest homicides recorded in Sweden?
- The highest recorded value was 128 deaths in 2020.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in Sweden?
- The lowest recorded value was 39 deaths in 1961.
- How does Sweden rank for homicides?
- Sweden ranks 48th out of 113 countries with data for 2023.
- Is homicides rising or falling in Sweden?
- Over the last ten years it is up 42.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sweden 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 — 73 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Annual number of homicides.